Karma's a B
by RavenMocker6
Summary: I was dead and gone. Nothing was left, and no one would miss me. Everyone I cared about was dead or betrayed me. I never did anything in my life, and all my chances to achieve my goals were gone. So now I will descend into Hell, like I always knew I would, and be tortured for all the wrong I had ever done... Just kidding. Karma's a b*tch!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1- Second Chance

I coughed, choking on my own life substance. I tried to breathe but nothing could enter my lungs, as they were already full of blood.

I was scared.

Not of what was to come, but what I was not able to leave behind. I tried to move my body, but I could barely manage a silent tear. My murderer's sadistic face came into view.

"Fuck you." I croaked.

Thinking back...

It's quite funny how I described my voice as croaking. Because that is exactly what I did. I croaked. I died. A fucking bullet wound to the chest. That's what did me in. My laugh echoed in my head. And thus my eyes closed and I nervously gave into death, after all, I was sure I was going to end up in the deepest and darkest part of Hell. But then again, when is life ever simple?

Because moments later, I found myself in death's office.

"What is your biggest fear?" I got up and spat on her desk.

"Fuck you." I walked towards the office door.

The lady sat straight dressed in her white blouse and black pencil skirt, with a clip board in her hands. Her wooden desk was neat, with only a few pens on the desk and a cup of a black liquid which somehow smelled like coffee.

"Shelby. Calm down and I'll explain myself." She sighed. I lifted up my middle finger and tried the door. It didn't open. I kicked at it as my famous temper getting the best of me.

"No! I'm fucking dead. Why don't you just send me to hell?" I growled. "I already know I'm going there!"

I had been a child that grew up in a wrong environment.

I had tried, honestly I did, to be a good person. I mean I was educated in elementary, all 5 years of high school, 2 years of Collage, and 4 years in Ancient Mediterranean studies receiving my Bachelor's. I donated extra money to charity, opened doors for strangers, gave blood when I could, helped old ladies cross the road… I did nice things.

But my undoing had been my temper. I needed an outlet. But that outlet wasn't very… legit? I was naturally a stressed person. Always looking over my shoulder, and paranoid. That caused me to get into fights. Just like the one that got me killed.

"Because there is no such thing." I stopped and looked at her stupidly. "There is no burning pits, there is no jailing, no chains, no pain." She rolled her eyes before pointing at the chair again.

"Sit down, I'm here to evaluate you."

I snorted in disbelief.

"That's funny. I'm sure I'll just fail whatever bullshit you pull on me."

Just like everything else.

My attention wavered back to the door and I rattled it as if it would all of a sudden become unlocked.

"It says here that you fear dying unnoticed the most." She read. I saw red and turned back to her.

"Fuck off!" I roared.

"Ah no I'm sorry, you fear not being acknowledged in all sense of the word." She hummed. She twisted her red pen around her thumb. I had always been jealous of how people could do that.

"FUCK YOU!"

"Don't you know any other insults?" I growled at her from behind the chair, my nails making marks in the wood.

She placed the clip board on the desk and stared at me.

"To successfully 'pass on' one has to achieve their dream or to accept that it will never happen and be okay with that..." She told me trailing off. I looked at her puzzled.

"What are you talking about?" I told her.

"I like you." She told me. I was quite surprised. "I really like you, so I'm going to give you another shot."

"What?" I asked. I was very confused. "Sorry! I don't think I swing that way."

"I'm giving you another life." Her stamper came out of nowhere and she positioned it above my paper.

"Wait! What do you mean another life." I said. She looked up and smirked.

"You are a survivor, so I don't want to see you back here for at least another 25 years." The stamp fell and I plunged back into darkness without any warning with only her voice trailing after me. "It is the least I can do for you."

And so I stayed in that darkness for what felt like eternity. I was confused for most of it. But soon enough I actually started to use that time wisely.

I did some thinking, and quickly came to the conclusion that there was no getting out of this. I had to accept it, and deal with it as it came. And so the first thing I did was face my old life.

I was born as the second of two children. I was also the only female.

Yes, I'm a girl.

Our mother have no motherly virtue. She would watch as my older brother picked on me. It was at the point where she laughed at me the first time my brother made me trip down the stairs. I had broken my arm… as well as his. She laughed after my brother called me a bitch.

She was no real mother. He was her favorite so she never punished him. I hated him too.

Now my father. That was one of the people I had adored in my life. He worked his ass off to support us. He was a mechanic at the airport. He worked midnights, starting at 7:00pm and ending at 5:00am. That was his regular shift. Most of the time he would work overtime finally getting home around 10:00am sometimes even 1:00pm. With that he would go to bed and start over again the next day. Now imaging trying to raise two kids at the same time.

My father was my inspiration. Working so hard, but never being acknowledged for his work. Never asking for recognition either. Through that he still found time to spend time with us. I could never forgive my mother for treating me nor the way she treated my father. She never had a job and when my father passed away, she started to live with my brother. My brother was a drug addict from an early age (when exactly? I didn't care enough to realize) and relied on his income of selling and buying drugs to support him and later my mother. He was actually a bright guy. Smart, but made the wrong decisions.

I don't mean that that everyone who smoked or that does drugs is an awful person. I mean who hasn't smoked a joint? But when you start abusing it and taking it to be able to function. That's when it becomes a problem. My brother couldn't eat so he smoked, wasn't awake until he did his first line of coke, wasn't alive until he injected his first shot of heroin. He needed it to function, as did my mother.

My heart tells me that they were failures. They weren't living, they were waiting for death.

In my books that meant they were the lowest of the low…but I couldn't help but laugh at that.

Because I was one too.

But in a different manner.

Fighting was my life. I remember my father being called into my primary school because I had gotten into a fight. He looked at me and I saw the 'again' passed through his mind. The councilor, bless her soul, told my father that maybe I had too much energy and should join a sport.

She never did specified what sport.

So my father took me to a MMA gym the next morning. He told me, "if you want to fight, fight in a controlled environment, and learn how to do it properly."

And that is where it all started. 15 years of MMA later and I'm dead. I tried my heart out, I knew my goal was to get into the UFC. To be like Ronda Rousey, Joanne Calderwood, Amanda Nunes, and most of all Joanna Jędrzejczyk. Because that is where people would watch me. It is where I would finally be respected.

I fought my first fight when I was 15. My second, two months later. I was a fighter. No matter how hard I was beaten down, I'd come back for one last hit, then another, and another.

And my father was my main supporter. No matter what time or when my match would take place, he was always there. He would take off work to come watch, he would work 16 hours the next day to be able to see me fight. But he would go with a smile, and he would brag about me to his coworkers. My mother and brother were too high at home. Not like they gave a shit. After eight years my mother finally asked why I had a black eye. She told me that I should be a real lady, to stop fighting and get a husband. I had just turned 18.

One of my happiest memories is when I preformed my first knock out at 16 years old. My father went crazy. Jumping up and down, screaming! I remember looking towards him as the ref held up my hand as he jumped a random person. Hugging them and pointing to me. I was so happy when I read 'that's my daughter' on his lips.

But all good things come to an end. He died when I was 16. He over worked himself. I had to find a way to pay my schooling and his burial on my own. Once again the other two didn't give a shit. That's why I hate addictions. You are so dependent on it after you start that you can't live without it. They were dependent on the Weed, the Heroin, the Purple Drank, the Meth. But I was addicted to fighting and training. It took over my life. I submerged myself in my training and school. To compensate I didn't sleep, this way I didn't have the nightmares. I started to smoke cigarettes once Father died. I lost my support, my common sense. So when 'That man' came into my life and offered me fame and money, I didn't refuse.

And thus I started to fight underground. Seven years later I was a veteran. I beat people an inch from death, sometimes to death, I killed dogs with my bare hands. I then took the dirty money and I paid for my father's funeral, my apartment and my education with it.

But was it really that bad? I had to survive… It's all I knew. I continued my professional fighting on the side and the two never intertwined. My coach probably guessed if the large bruises and teeth marks were an indication, but he didn't say anything. Probably because I saw the same scars on him.

I laughed all alone in the darkness. I held my head and let a tear fall down my face. I will be forgetting this anyway.

So why was I thinking of this?

It's because I don't want my next self to be like I was. Whatever karma would transfer over, I wanted there to be at least some good. And so I did the hardest thing possible.

I tried to forgive them. I forgave my mother and my brother for being idiots. I forgave my murderer for killing me, I forgave my best friend for abandoning me, I forgave my coach for not stopping me. I forgave That man for recruiting me. I forgave his fucked up son too. I forgave the dogs, no wait I didn't, because they were like me, trying to survive. It was the trainers and the owners of the dogs that I forgave. I forgave my father for dying on me.

And last but not least. The hardest thing I did. Was that I forgave myself. I forgave myself for being a failure. Because this time that 'me', that will be born, won't be this one. It was my second chance.

But forgiving everything didn't help much. I would forget it in time anyway. The moment I was born or the time when my earlier years would be wiped from my mind.

Nothing would cross over.

Just kidding.

Karma's a bitch.

-.-

Hey Everyone!  
Sorry for not uploading any of my stories in a long time. Unfortunately life gets in the way of things. I will Be continuing Answers but i have decided that i will have to rework This is War.

So without further ado, I introduce you to my "New" story, Karma's a B.... I say "New" because i have been working on this for over a year and have 100 pages already written up. I'm actually planning on finishing this one.

So i will try to upload at least one time a week, If I haven't don't be shy to spam me, It might have slipped my mind.

At the moment I'm living the dream working once again on a dig site in Greece, doing Archaeological work with a university. Working hard creating links and hopefully opening up doors for me to do my Masters at that university.

Anyway, Love you all lots.

Comments are always welcome.

RavenMocker6

P.S. This story is purely fictional. I own Shelby/Reika, Everything else belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2- Reika Hyuga

The first few months following my birth were… uneventful to say the least. I really don't remember much as my senses were all over the place. This meant that I was not able to distinguish what was going on around me.

Despite this, I knew the exact moment that I was born. With my senses funny, I was barely able to comprehend what was happening. I went from warm, to cold, to warm again. I was then transferred into the waiting arms of my now-mother. I could feel the heat and the slight tremble in her limbs as she clutched me tightly to her chest. Drops of what I realized were water fell onto to me, and although my hearing sucked, I could remember the faint words that were whispered to me.

"Kami-sama." She cried. "Thank you."

Half a year later, I would start to realize that I could feel something like blood rushing through my veins. It was slightly uncomfortable, but not painful. It was strange, it made me feel somewhat powerful. And whatever it was, there was a lot of it!

As I focused on it, the feeling would intensify. The first time I did that, I freaked out. I was crying because I was a fucking baby and couldn't do anything else!

A year later, I would come to recognize this substance as chakra and would place myself in this fucked up world.

The other thing I did know, was that my memory was still intact. It was quite weird. I would have thought would have started with a blank slate… Like John Locke's theory? But for some reason I could remember everything. I even remembered the damn cat that liked to meow and piss at my door every night…

Asshole. I kind of missed him. This world was somewhat strange to me, despite my previous knowledge. It was all new and wasn't what I was used to. I was wary.

In other words…. This led to the day when I started to recognize things.

I'll tell you the truth… I was terrified. At seven months, I was finally able to recognize oddities in the world around me. For one thing, neither of my parents had any pupils.

I reached out to touch my one of my now-father's white eyes. He peeked out from the other, a small smile gracing his lips as he watched me. He had straight brown hair and a silver insignia on his forehead. To my surprise, on it was the shape of a leaf. To be honest… I was surprised it took me that long to realize it. By a while I mean a few days from the first time I was able to see clearly what the insignia the head band was to grasp what it meant.

When I did figure it out, I screamed, flailing my little arms. I was scared, confused and was wondering who had a grudge against me.

Fucking Office Lady.

The world that I now lived in was something I was already familiar with. VERY FAMILIAR!

I had spent years and years sitting on my bed, in my underwear and sport's bra, eating ice cream and, sometimes, nursing a concussion or healing from other injuries, or at least trying to, watch this show. At first it was something to pass the time, then eventually it became more than that. I had followed the plot line religiously, seeing the episode as soon as it came out, buying the series as soon as it was on DVD. I connected with the characters and used it to escape my painful life. It is quite ironic that I actually got the chance to live it now.

"Shhh~ Reika-chan" my now-mother took me in her arms and cradled me. My now-father looked over her shoulder clearly worried.

"Did I do something?" he asked her. My 'mother' rolled her eyes before attempting to feed me.

I'll skip that part… it was quite embarrassing.

With time, came more realization of where I was born. And to what family.

As you have probably figured out, I was a citizen of Kohona. The leaf sign on my father's insignia was a testimony to that. This came at a shook for me. Before being reborn, if anyone would have asked me which village I would picture myself being born in. I would have said either Ame or Kiri. Out of all the villages, those where the ones which I believed to be the most fucked up (Hence The Bloodline Wars and Hanzo's Tyrany). What a fitting scene for someone as messed up as me.

As for the family? I'm sure you have already realized it. Both of my parents had white eyes and straight brown hair. This meant that they were part of the Hyuga clan. And in extension, this applied to me as well.

I was set down on the floor and sat up in front of a closet door. I touched my reflection in the large mirror. I had the same pupiless light purple-white eyes as my whole clan with the brown hair of my mother. And I didn't know how I felt about that.

The Hyuga were a very traditional clan, but as you probably guessed... I wasn't. I would later find out that I was part of the branch family as both of my parents had the caged bird seal. This meant that once I came of age…. I would be getting it as well.

Anxiety bloomed in my chest and I furrowed my brows. I was going to be trapped. A bird in a cage once again to be a shield to others and entertainment for everyone else.

A spit of laughter came from behind me. The sudden noise surprised me and I fell over onto my back. I whined and flailed my arms trying to pick myself back up. Stupid motor skills. This caused the suspects to laugh harder. I looked over and my now- mother came towards me. She raised me in her arms and I looked back at my reflection.

The lower part of the mirror was fogged up. I shrugged. I guess I was too close to the mirror if my breath fogged it up.

And thus i took advantage of being a child and cuddled close to my now-mother, I didn't have this type of affection in my past life. So I soaked it up now while i could, because after...

All this will be gone.

My Karma had followed me.

-.-

Hello Everyone!

Just liked I promised... Here is the next chapter. It is a bit short, but fear not, they will be getting longer soon enough. So once again, this is an introductory chapter, the real story will be staring in the fourth chapter with the introduction of someone special. Any guesses who?

Thank you all for following, Favoring, and reviewing my story. I look forward to your comments so much, and it gives me hope that this will not be a big bust.

To everyone else, thanks for reading and i'm looking forward to reading to your comments.

Love you all,

RavenMocker6

To **KathrynthePyro-bitch** and **Sticks Stones and S'mores**. Thanks for the comments. I'm glad you like it. I hope I can satisfy your expectations for this story. I will definitely try my hardest. After all, i have been working on this for i little over a year now. I can't wait to hear from you two again. Thank you 3!

P.S. I can't help but say this, but If anyone is looking for a knew place for a vacation... Thasos Island is the perfect place. It is the perfect mixture of modern and historical. You can find ruins everywhere, and bars galore. If you like Hiking they have an amazing Acropolis which toy can hike up. And if you just like the beach, There are beaches everywhere with water as clear as Figi! It even has a marble quarry you can jump off of in Aliki! Second time going and it never gets boring  
;)


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3- Birth Right

By the time I was two, I was running around and communicating almost perfectly with my now-parents. Although my grammar needed some work, i was clearly understood. Learning a new language in two years was a feat. And my parents were quite proud of my advancement.

With new language skills also came the dreaded moment where I was introduced to other kids.

Like I had suspected I really just didn't get along with them. And I believe that is quite normal, I mean I was an adult in a child's body. I really did not want to play with blocks or build sand castles.

And so this led to my first fight was a disaster. The other kid was a Hyuga three years my senior. I lost, terribly. With my new body, came new reflexes and all my muscle memory was wiped clean. I had none of my skills from my previous life.

So what happened? I didn't want to play with the other kids and so I sat on the porch looking at the clouds. I ignored the five-year old that decided that I absolutely had to play with him. I then called him an idiot causing him to use his gentle fist… Unfortunately I landed in the nearby pond. Fortunately there was an adult around.

Let's just say, I was wet, frustrated and in trouble. I had been under the assumption that there was only one direct line in the main family. Turns out i was wrong, those who are closest to the main family had some special privileges as well. And this kid was a part of that group.

My now-father sat me on the table while my mother checked over my chakra points.

Thinking about it now, it's a good thing that I still felt foreign in my body. Still like I did not belong. Because then I would have had to answer how a two year old had the muscle memory of a distinct style. And I really didn't want to take a trip to T&I. I couldn't afford it.

"I'm very disappointed with you, Reika." My now-father scolded. I pouted before my now-mother pushed a point in my body where my chakra was disrupted. The natural flow of the energy ran through my arm once again and I allowed myself to relax.

I flexed my hand ignoring what was said in favor of studying my arm and the chakra flow.

"Reika-chan, listen to your father." My now-mother said. I looked to the side and nodded.

"It is not nice to call people names." He said.

"But I did not want to play with him." I told him. My parents' expression suddenly turned sad.

"Reika." My now-father took a deep breath. "Next time you have to say yes and play. Even if you don't want to."

"But I don't want to!" I said, my voice raising in volume a bit more. My now-mother pulled me close to her, enveloping me in a hug. It wasn't fair.

"Reika-chan." She caught my attention when her voice wobbled. It kind of scared me. "Listen to your father. Please." My brows furrowed together and a sudden tear rolled down my cheek. It surprised even me. I don't cry.

Stupid childish emotions.

"But why?" I said.

"Reika." My attention was brought back to my now-father as he brushed the tear from my cheek. "My little genius."

He sighed before kissing my forehead.

His hesitation soon turned solid and he spoke with confidence.

"There are two parts of our family. The main and the branch. "

"The branch?" I asked. My now-mother pulled away from me and I gave them my full attention.

"Yes, like a tree, Reika. There is the trunk, which would be the main family and there is the branches which, like the name suggests, it is the branch family." She said.

"Which are we?" I asked innocently, as if I didn't know.

"We are part of the branch family." My father replied. He placed his hand on my small head and ruffled my hair. "Because we are part of the branch family, we have a very important duty to fulfill."

That was a word I didn't understand.

"Fulfill?" I asked. He nodded.

"Bring about, to do. It is our job."

I gripped my pants unconsciously.

"What do we have to do?"

My now-mother turned sharply away from my trying to hide the tear that escaped her eye. I realized then how young she really was. Doing the calculations years later, she must have been twenty. I was born when she was eighteen.

"We have to protect the trunk of the tree, we are tasked with the duty to protect the main branch so that the secrets of our kekkei genkei does not fall into unwanted hands." More tears fell from my eyes as his analogy struck a different cord in me.

We are the branches that protect the trunk. We make the trunk strong and do the work. But most of all if one of us dies, it will not affect the trunk. The trunk will still go on. We are expendable.

 _"_ _Just die already Immortal! You are getting too old to play this game!"_

I tried to shake out the voices.

 _"_ _Bring us some young ones! Give us your blood!"_

"I do not have a choice?" I looked in his eyes. A flash of sadness came and went.

"Be proud of this my daughter." His hand landed on my forehead. It brushed away my hair and he smiled softly. Like my mother, he too was young. I would later realized that he was even younger actually.

"We are the protectors."

-.-

And so life went on.

I went to more play dates, and this time I sucked up my pride and anger, all for my parents, and 'played with the kids'. The adults continuously glared at me, and I pretended to ignore the comments they made.

For the most part, this all stopped six months later. I was two in a half when I was sitting at the table eating with my parents and thinking. They were having a conversation, something about my mother's latest mission.

The Byakugan. It was never something that had previously thought about. It was a kekkei genkai that could only be mastered by a Hyuga. The anime nor the manga ever said anything about how to activate it.

I hummed before closing my eyes, unconsciously toying with my chakra. I had been so used to not having the force, that it was almost second nature to locate and use it.

"Reika." I opened them to see both of my parents staring at me.

"Yes. Otou-san?" I asked but it was my mother that answered.

"Since when have you been able to use your chakra like that?" I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion.

The veins on the side of my mother's face tensed and her eyes became hyper focused.

I looked at this in shook. I had only see the Byakugan once before, and I got my butt kicked for it.

"Your chakra system seems to be developing quite rapidly." She said, I looked down at my body then back at her.

"You can see that?" I asked. I crawled to her side and sat on my knees in front of her. Staring into her eyes, I tried to figure out what she was focusing on.

"Yes Reika-chan, it's our kekkei genkai remember?" I turned to look at my father and cocked my head.

"How can I do it?" I asked. He gave me a smile.

"All you have to do is focus your chakra to your eyes, and it should activate."

I hummed before closing my eyes. I still had some difficulty controlling my chakra but not as much as before, after all I had been training it in secret for the last year. Nap time was finally useful. So when I opened them…

In my other life I had always wondered what the Byakugan was like. I thought it was something like X-ray vision.

How wrong was I.

It was so much more.

I saw only in black and white; barely any color. Every detail was apparent and my brain absorbed it all. I saw a bird outside the window open its mouth, the tongue flicking a few times, before he chirped. I flooded more chakra into my eyes and my vision expanded through the walls and out around the house. This did not mean that everything slowed down. It only magnified, like looking through a telescope in high definition.

"Wow." I whispered as I studied the small ant hill right off our door step. I counted each of the 289 grains of sand on the top of the little hill. The Byakugan was amazing. It was crazy!

"It really is awesome." My mother laughed.

My vision retracted into the room and I looked over at my parents.

I saw the skin wrinkle slightly around my father's eyes before he laughed.

"I forgot how amazing it was the first time I saw through the Byakugan." He told my mother. She hummed starting at me. I studied their bodies before my eyes focused on color. Blue circulated throughout their bodies, going to each part, before dividing to follow the chakra paths.

"What are the white points?" I asked my parents. They looked at each other before pointing to one of the white dots on my own hand. I looked down following my mother's finger.

"These are called Tengetsu." My mother responded.

"Tengetsu?" I asked. I didn't remember much about them from the show.

"Yes," my father answered. "They are points in the body that help direct the flow of chakra and to help with regulating the amount that goes past it."

I hummed before studying them. They were small… even to the Byakugan.

"How do you turn it off?" I asked.

"Retract your chakra." My father replied. I did so and everything blasted with color. The sudden assault hurt my head and a sudden headache formed.

"Can you train me to use it?" I asked them. They smiled before my father came closer to gather me in his arms. Happiness and content filled me, and I couldn't help but smile.

"Of course Reika." He hugged me close patting my head. "We would be awful parents if we didn't teach you about your birth right."

I looked over at my mother to see her look down softly. If I had to describe the look… I guess it would have been guilt.

My mother looked guilty.

And I had no idea why.

 **-.-**

Hello Readers,

Hope you have had a great week as of yet. As promised, here is the third chapter. A little bit more of an introduction to Reika as a character, and the Hyuga clan in general.

Any guesses who Reika meets in the next chapter?

Thank you everyone for your views, follows, favorites, and reviews. Love you all, and can't wait to hear from you again.

RavenMocker6

To **Natasha-Tenshi** I'm always glad for the followings. Thanks for the encouragement!

 **FireBirdOn,** you know if I say anything it would give away so much, so sorry to say this but you will have to wait. But trust me... It will be worth it.

And To **Dark Rose Charm,** I'm glad i got your attention, now i need to keep it. So for your other comment, i honestly can't say anything. But i will let you and whoever reads this in on a fact. She will be changing the story line quite a bit. And that is true, she will not say anything what-so-ever.

P.S. I may or may not be posting two chapters next week. I will be in Athens from the 22nd to the 30th so I don't know when I will be able to have access to Wi-fi during that time.

EDITS- I edited one bit of the story, as **KathrynthePyro-bitch** has brought to my attention there is only the direct line of the Hyuga line that is part of the main family. Therefore I changed it up a bit, and made it so that there are a few individuals that have special cases. These people are suck ups to the main family and are allowed more freedom and respect due to their loyalty.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4- The Boy and his Father. My First Friend.

And so, training pretty much replaced playing with the clan kids. Thank you fucking Office Lady.

I moved my body slowly as I moved from standing with both hands out to my right arm back and slide my feet further apart. I then moved it downwards, in a semi-circle, before reaching out with the palm of my hand, my left palm followed before my right foot met air.

"Reika." I stopped my Kata before looking over at my father.

"Yes, Otou-san?" I asked, my concentration solely on the task at hand. I kept my foot in the air, arching my back, before taking hold of it in my hands. I felt the stretch and was content to stay in the position, wobbling only to some extent.

"I know you know the Kata by heart." He said. "Speed up your movements."

I scowled looking at him.

"But my technique!" I remarked.

"You do not have any major flaws in your technique, Reika." My father smiled, pride showing in his eyes. "And you practice every morning before your mother is up anyway." I looked at him sheepishly.

"Nothing can be hidden from the Byakugan, my daughter."

I put my foot down before sighing.

"Yes, Otou-san." I said before moving into position. This time I worked twice as fast. The speed definitely sapped away from my coordination.

I ended the sequence with a thrust of my left palm and scowled. My form was messy, my kicks were not nearly as high or powerful as when I took my time. This body needs to be trained more.

Clapping was heard from the porch and I turned around. My mother grinned happily at me.

"Good job Reika-chan!" she said, causing me to blush in embarrassment. My father laughed at the red that painted my face, before going towards my mother.

I don't know what I did to deserve them, but I loved these people, and they were so good to me.

My father kissed her cheek and she looked at him lovingly. I loved the sight. I never had that in my old life. I don't think I can remember the last time that I remember my old parents having any sort of intimate contact. My old parents didn't love each other after I was born. They had even slept in different beds and rooms.

But I got a good family in this life. I was lucky. These people were not shy in showing affection to each other within the household. They truly loved each other.

I actually found it quite surprising considering the Hyuga were definitely a traditional clan, and outward affection would probably considered inappropriate.

But it was hard, I must say, to trust them. To give them the chance to be my parents. To allow them to love me. But the hardest I must say was for my now-mother. This mother will not be like my past-mother. If there is anything I know, it is that there is no two people the same. So it doesn't mean, just because she has the same title in this life, that she will act the same. The same thing goes for my father. So that is why I try. I try to be their daughter.

"When do you have to be at the gates?" My mother asked my father.

He looked up at the sun before doing the calculations in his head.

"In thirty minutes," he sighed before giving her a peck on the lips.

"You will be leaving on a mission?" I asked walking over to the couple. I stood beside them and looked up at his face. It was strangely glowing a bit more them usual.

"Yes, I have a A-rank with a couple of other Jonin." He said, a well-hidden hint of excitement tainted his voice. "I'll be gone for the week."

"Who's leading?" My mother asked catching onto his eagerness. She smiled at him, quite amused. My father's lips twitched.

"Sakumo." I froze looking at my parents in shock.

I knew that name. Sakumo.

White hair and black eyes came to mind.

A knife full of blood, and a depressed teenager

"Sakumo-kun?" My mother asked, she smiled. "We have not seem him in years. I'm sure you will be able to catch up fast."

I cocked my head to the side before tugging on my father's pants.

"Yes, Reika?" he asked.

"Whose Sakumo-san?" I asked.

My father smiled before picking me up and hugging me close.

"Sakumo was one of my Genin teammates." He said. "Although he was already a Chunin when I was assign to the team."

Interesting.

"Why have I not met him?" I asked curiously. My father laughed before kissing my forehead.

"You will, Reika. You will."

And so that day came sooner than I thought.

-.-

"Reika, put everything away, we are going to the park." My head snapped away from the book that laid under me.

"The park?" I groaned. My father smiled down at me and nodded to the door.

"Yes, you need to be social." He told me. "You've been focusing on the book for much too long."

I looked up at the clock and read two in the afternoon. I had been reading since the early morning.

To be honest, I was trying my hardest to start learning to read the language. But as a three year old, that was harder than expected, some characters I could recognize, such as 'person', or 'tree.' I personally liked the symbols for tree, some trees and forest. It was quite repetitive. But for the most part, I was looking at the photos trying to associate the words with the picture, guessing what it was about. In doing this, I was able to figure some out that way.

My parents were quite surprised when I ran to them, asking if it really was the symbol for fire. They thought I was just looking at the symbols. Little did they know I was on my way to learning the language.

I squeaked when my father picked me up, and over his shoulder. Within moments we were out the door.

I quietly pouted in his arms, not wanting to go.

I didn't want to have to go watch and 'play' with the other Hyuga kids. They were mean and stuck up and I was seriously going to get in trouble again.

As I was lost in thought, I didn't realize that the compound was getting further away. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion.

"Otou-san, Where are we going?" I asked.

"The park." he said.

"But it's that way!" I pointed in the opposite way. He chuckled.

"So you want to go play with the other Clan kids that bad?" he asked. I glared and he smiled at my expression and lack of response.

"We are going to a different park today." I scrunched up my face, more kids, more screaming but from different families. At least the adults wouldn't glare at me.

"Why?"

"Because you will need to know the kids that are going to be in your class starting next year." He said. "They will end up on your Genin team and thus you will have to get along."

"But they are so immature!" I whined. He shook his head as we turned the corner.

"No, Reika, you are just too mature." I shrugging not denying it. I wasn't going to correct him. All Hyuga children are somewhat more mature then regular kids. It comes with our environment. We had to be all business, the child was taken out of us at a young age. But that was fine, the less time I have to be a child, the more time I can spend training, and eventually, messing with the timeline.

The idea of being a 'Genius' will benefit me. I lived in the era of the Third Hokage, When Sakumo was still alive. The Second Ninja War was coming to it's end, and the Third will come soon after. And I still didn't know in which way will I take part in it. But those thoughts are for a different day.

We turned into an open area and I was faced with a playground. Slides, monkey bars, spider webs, and swings… oh how I've missed swings. As I child I used to swing all day, anything to get out of the house. It felt liberating, like I could fly.

"Hiza!"

I looked to the voice to see a man sitting on one of the benches. My father grinned.

Sakumo looked young. He didn't have any wrinkles like he would have in the future. He was dressed in his normal blue uniform with his Chunin vest over it. On his left arm a piece of white material surrounded it. Red triangles surrounded the sleeve with the Uzumaki swirl in the center. He was hunched over on his knees, lazily saluting my father as we came over.

"Sakumo! Nice to see you!" He said putting me down. I was silent, unsure what to make of this man. He seemed nice as he conversed with my father. But I knew that sometime in the future, right after his son would graduate, he would kill himself.

That coward, how dare he abandon his son to deal with his mess.

"Reika?" I was startled out of my thoughts by my father calling me.

"Yes?" I asked innocently. He nodded to Sakumo and my attention drifted back to the older Hatake.

"Hello, my name is Hatake, Sakumo, what is yours?" he asked. He slipped off the bench and came to my level. I studied him for a few seconds before deciding that I might be able to like him. His eyes were black, bright and full of life but the black circles said another story. He must have a hard time sleeping. After all, that's what happens when you're put in the position of survival. Especially when you are a genuinely nice person.

I knew it all too well.

"Nice to meet you, Hatake-san." I bent at the waist, trying to play the part of the obedient Hyuga child. "My name is Hyuga Reika."

He studied me for a few seconds before he blurted out in laughter.

"Hatake-san?!" he wiped at his eyes before grinning. "I feel like you are talking to my father, just call me Sakumo."

Damn…. Thinking back, I think that was probably the moment where my opinion of him started to change.

"Yes, Sakumo-san."

"Very polite child you have there, Hiza." He told my father.

"Yes," he said, ruffling my brown hair. "But only when she wants to."

I glared up at him and flatted it out again.

"I don't think I've ever seen a disobedient Hyuga." Sakumo got up before placing his hands on his hips. "Well, other than you."

"That was mostly because of you had me in trouble all the time." He teased.

"Who's this?"

I looked to the rude kid that suddenly appeared at Sakumo's side and immediately realized who it was. I resisted a the shit-eating grin that wished to break free.

"Why don't you introduce yourself and find out." Sakumo lightly scolded the kid. The kid shrugged but did as his father asked.

"I'm Hatake, Kakashi, and you are?" he asked me. He looked the same age as me, maybe a bit older. He stood upright, and confident with his signature gravity-defying white hair and the same black eyes. His blue mask covered the bottom half of his face with his shuriken scarf wrapped around his neck.

"Hyuga, Reika."

Little did I know, this was the start of a wonderful, but sad relationship.

And with it, began my ripple.

-.-

It was odd.

I stood on a branch watching Kakashi struggle to get up to me and scratched my head.

My chakra network developed very fast. As months flew by, we truly began to notice how large my reserves are. I was three and my chakra reserves were nearing the level of a low Genin.

I had large reserves, so what! Lots of other characters had the same, Sasuke, Uzumaki Mito, The Second Hokage, Naruto, Kisame, Kushina, A, Nagato…

But if large reserves meant poor chakra control, how could I control my chakra so well. I was three and had mastered the tree-climbing exercise within no time.

Was it because I was a 'Genius?' No. that was what the others said. But I knew it was different. Both of my parents had great chakra control, but even they didn't learn as fast as I did.

"I swear I'll be able to get up there within the hour!" Kakashi fumed as he picked himself up off the ground. I stayed silent as I continued to think.

No, it was my rebirth. That must be what caused my control.

I concentrated on the living river that flowed throughout my body and hummed. I lived so long without having chakra and now that I do, it came easy to be able to control.

I jumped down from a branch and looked towards Kakashi as he launched himself back up the tree.

This was no longer this invincible 'Chi' that my teacher in my old life had dragged on about. An energy that flowed throughout your body and nourished your movements. It is not a force that people could deny. This was something I could see. And with my sudden exposure to it, I was able to control the flow and distribution with relative ease.

I took one step onto the tree before testing it with a tug. My foot stayed planted. I took one more step and held myself vertical. It put strain on my core and I flexed my abdominal muscles to keep me straight.

This control was scary. I guess genetics somewhat helped. The Hyuga always had good control. They had to as their techniques relied on the release of chakra from the pores and the maintenance of its shape.

"Very good, Reika!"

My concentration cut off and I smack onto the ground.

"OW!" I ground before I heard Kakashi laugh from the branch I had previously stood on. It took a bit longer but he was definitely up there.

"Oh zip it!" I snapped at him. I could almost see the smile appear from behind his mask.

Sakumo also laughed from beside me.

I blushed and crossed my arms. I wasn't really upset, just embarrassed.

"What do you two say to Dango?" the white-haired man said, my ears perked up and I looked at Kakashi. He caught my eye and I couldn't help but grin.

"Sounds good!" Kakashi jumped down from the branch and hit the ground next to me.

"Then get going." Sakumo said. Kakashi went forward and grabbed his father's hand. It was a cute sight.

I never had that growing up the first time. I had always been quite jealous of being able to hold my parents hand. My mother never wanted to touch me and my father was just too busy.

"Reika!" I shook my away my thoughts and saw the hand that extended towards me. I followed it to Kakashi's face.

With a small grin, I gripped his hand and he helped me up.

His grip didn't let go as we started to walk away, hand in hand. Like train. My heart beat excitedly inside me.

I was happy. So very happy.

I felt as if I finally belonged somewhere. Like I was really alive, and that everything that had happened in my other life was a dream.

But little did I know just how entrenched my other life still was.

-.-

Hello Everyone!

I hope everyone has had a good week. We had crappy weather here in Greece this weekend so I had lots of time to write. The story has finally began to go on its way. With Kakashi and Sakumo's appearance, you can be sure that Reika will become more integrated into the Naruto Plot.

Anyway. Enjoy and thank you for your views, Favorites, follows and Reviews. It means alot and i'm always looking forward to seeing them.

RavenMocker6

Thank you again **KatherynthePyro-Bitch** for pointing out how the whole branch/main family thing didn't work. I went back and corrected it.

 **Dark Roe Charm** you got your wish. Kakashi has arrived. Obito and Rin will be coming soon, I believe in a few chapters but don't quote me on that.

 **FireBirdOn** , I hope it lives up to your and everyone else's expectations.

 **Silverlined Phoenix** , that is exactly why i put her as a Hyuga. No one would expect it, and it creates so much conflict that i couldn't help it. My option was as Nara, but this one won out. Oh and little hint... The title is perfect for the story, so keep it in mind when you read.

 **Guest** (1), to answer your question, Reika was 25 years old when she died. Like i told **Silverlined Phoenix,** the theme of Karma is very important in the story. you might only get it later, but keep it in mind. ;)

 **Guest** (2), I'm actually quite surprised that it was the title that hooks people in. usually i'm shit at coming up with them. i guess i was lucky this time around. Reika+Hyuga=Trouble. That's all i'm going to say.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5- The Fight for Friendship.

"Want to come over, Reika?" Kakashi asked. I looked at him in confusion before glacing at Sakumo. He smiled at me encouragingly.

"I would have to ask Otou-san." I answered, my eyes trailed to the man I called my father. A smile graced his face and he nodded.

"Go ahead, Reika." My father answered. I grinned before gripping Kakashi's hand in excitement. I was curious to know where Kakashi lived. Maybe I was even going to meet his mother. I would only find out later that she had already passed.

We walked away from the park, my father talking animatedly with Sakumo.

"We can play ninja in the back yard when we get back." Kakashi said. I watched his scarf wave in the wind as he pulled me along. "It will help with our training."

We got to his house in no time. It was a small two story house with a back yard.

"It's a nice little house." My father responded to Sakumo.

"Yeah, great for the two of us." The white-haired man said. We walked up to the door and Sakumo unlocked it. In no time Kakashi pulled me inside talking animatedly about the other things we were going to do.

I got five feet into the house and through a doorway and into the kitchen before I felt eyes on me. The hairs on the back of my neck stood tall, and bumps appeared on my forearms.

"Reika?" I ignored Kakashi before looking around. This feeling was never wrong. It's the feeling I would get when there was danger, or what my mind preserved as a danger. The feeling that saved my life on more than one occasion. Ignoring it led to my death.

"Reika, lets go." He told me. I didn't say anything as I looked towards the entrance. I heard panting and swallowed.

"Tou-san, something is up with Reika." Kakashi called from beside me. He sounded annoyed but I couldn't really focus on what he was saying. I just couldn't. Not with this danger lurking somewhere around me.

My eyes widened as a large black dog emerged from behind the wall. I took a step back as he came into the kitchen. My eyes locked onto those of the beast and my back hit the…

 _There was screams from all around me. People spitting at me and grinning. Garbage was thrown around me and I closed my eyes, focusing on my survival and less on the spectators._

 _"_ _Tonight,"_

 _His eyes were a doe brown. But he was far from docile. These eyes never looked away from me. He knew I would make him money._

 _"_ _We have come to witness a very special match. A Death match." I ignored his words; already knowing who it was. My hand was full of sweat and made the small hunting knife feel slippery._

 _I was never told who I was fighting, it was a sort of tradition that you only found out once you were in the ring._

 _"_ _Although it will not be against another fighter, The Immortal will be fighting a death match against something more wild..." I could feel the grin on his face. I span the knife experimentally in my hands. It felt foreign, as I was always better with my bare hands._

 _"_ _Unleash the dogs."_

 _With that, the door on the other end of the area was opened and three dogs came flying out towards me. Their jaw were snapping with their eyes, burning with rage. No, thinking back, it was fear._

 _I did the only thing I could do._

 _I fought to the death._

"Reika?" I heard a voice say.

"STAY AWAY!" I cried pushing the person to my right away and huddled in the corner. My eyes never left the dog. It stayed put in the archway of the door and looked at me with…

 _Eyes full of fear. They rushed at me, snapping their jaws and snarling. They backed me into a corner before one of them launched itself at me. I immediately brought the knife up to defend myself and jabbed it into the dog's shoulder._

 _The dog gave a cry, and I followed as pain laced itself in my arm._

 _Pain also filled my leg and I fell onto the ground as one of the dogs tugged, whipping its head from side to side._

 _Cries of delight sounded from around me._

 _"_ _KILL HER YOU FUCKING MUTTS!"_

 _Anger rose from inside me as I pulled out the knife and slashed one of the dogs' neck. It died._

 _I kicked out with my other leg and hit the other dog, whose teeth were in my leg, in the nose. Blood wet its mouth and dripped onto the floor. And the third took that moment to charge._

 _And these spectators don't define me._

 _I will prevail._

"REIKA" I stopped screaming as my mind landed back in my body. The dog was gone and Sakumo held a sniffling Kakashi in his arms near the door. It seems as if my screaming had scared the little guy.

My breath was shaky as I swallowed my fear. I clutched onto fabric and my father held me close.

"Shh. It's okay Reika." My cheeks were wet and I could see small red lines mark his arms. It looked like someone had scratched him. And it was all me. I hurt him.

He got up and hid my face in his shoulder. His hand threaded his way into my hair, and I could feel his hand shake slightly.

"Sorry Sakumo." He apologized. I didn't hear the rest of the conversation as I tried to understand what just happened.

I had a flashback. Of my old life. My PTSD was starting up again, and it was showing me memories I would rather forget.

I fought my first death match when I was twenty. I was someone already known for my ability to survive. I ended up killing all three dogs, with a large gash in my leg and another on my left shoulder. They had disinfected my wound then bandaged it up. Giving me instructions not to overwork it and to let it heal, they gave me my five grand for the fight and kicked me out.

That man… or his fucking son… would come see me when my next fight would be.

"Reika." I blinked back to see a familiar environment. I was in my room. When had we gotten back?

"What happened?" he asked. I froze before looking away. He placed me on my bed and sat next to me.

I didn't say anything. I mean what was I supposed to say?

'Yeah, so I have this fear of dogs? Cause well I used to fight them in my past life. Oh and kill them too! Yup! That's part of the job description.'

Yeah… how about No.

I curled into a ball and stayed silent.

"Were you scared?" He asked me.

"NO!" I growled. I flinched at my own tone. Before biting my lip.

I just raised my voice to a Hyuga. A traditional clan. One that would beat their children to have them obey them. A hand came close to me and I flinched.

"Fear is not a bad thing, Reika." My father patted my head I suddenly felt embarrassed and ashamed that I thought that he would hit me. This is a man that only gave me a lecture when I picked a fight with a pet of the main house.

"Fear is weakness." I bit out. My emotions were raging and my head started to throb.

"No, Reika." I looked into the face of my father and caught his soft smile. "It means you are human. That you have limitations."

"But limitations are weakness!" I stressed. He chuckled before pulling back my covers, forcing me under them. He pulled them up around me and I gripped onto his brown kimono top.

"Reika," He touched my head and brushed his fingers though my hair. "Limitations mean that you have found a barrier that you need to work to remove. It motivates you to progress in your training."

At that moment, I think I really started to consider him my father. Someone to rely on. To look up to. Someone I could let come close to me. He was my father.

"It makes you a better person." He bent down and kissed my forehead. "Do you understand?"

I nodded.

"I'm sorry, Otou-san." I whispered. I still held onto his clothes, but I looked away.

"Everyone feels afraid at one point, Reika." He said. He got up and went to leave, but I didn't let go. He looked at me, clearly waiting for me to let go.

"Otou-san?" I asked quietly.

"Yes, my daughter?" he asked.

"Will you stay with me until I fall asleep." I asked. I could feel my cheeks burn in embarrassment.

I felt his weight come back on my bed and shift.

"You will have to move over." He chuckled. I gave him a soft glare but moved over. He crawled under the blankets and curled around me on my single bed.

He must have been uncomfortable, in such a tiny bed, but he didn't complain. I snuggled into his warmth and breathed in his scent. It was an airy, earth smell with a touch of citrus.

I fell asleep to his breathing, feeling safe, in my father's arms for the first time in over twenty-three years.

-.-

I woke up to a cold bed.

My father's smell was still there and I smiled to myself.

Breathing in, I held it for a good thirty seconds before exhaling. I then focused my chakra to my eyes before examining the household.

It was quiet, almost too quiet. It was the next morning and my mother should have been home from her mission.

I searched the house until I found both of my parents sitting at the table. They seemed to be having an important discussion.

Like the child my body was, I got curious. I crept out of my bed and opened my door quietly. I could already hear their muttering but I couldn't understand them. So I crept closer.

"She's only three! Why is they so adequate on placing it on her now!" my mother cried. I was shocked when I saw tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Satomi, it's the clan's way." My father said. He sounded sad and quiet distraught. "They are also picking up on how she is not a regular child. How she is so much smarter then the others. How different she is."

"I don't care!" my mother cried. "Reika, is my daughter!"

"Hush! We don't want to wake her!" he said. My mother settled down.

"Can't you do anything, Hizashi?" she asked him, she seemed desperate.

I froze, hearing my father's full name for the first time. Hyuga, Hizashi. An important but minor character in the plot. The brother of Hiashi, the clan leader and the father of Hyuga Neji. The man who dies before his son's fifth birthday.

"My brother isn't clan head yet, Satomi." He said. I heard movement and saw how he got up off the floor to wrap my mother in a hug. "Even if he was, I am part of the branch family too, my love, I have no power." My mother cried once more.

"It's all because of…" she trailed off. "Isn't it?" she asked.

Through my Byakugan I saw him nod. She sniffed before I saw my father's arms retract from her.

"I'm going to check on her." My mother said. I sneaked back to my room before they could realize I was listening.

Jumping under the covers, I faked sleep as the door opened.

"I'll try, Satomi." I heard my father, Hizashi, say.

"Thank you."

The door closed behind her and I felt her presence behind me. She walked closer to me before sitting on the bed.

"I'm sorry." She whispered. I felt her hand brush my hair as I controlled my breathing. She sniffed before she laid down beside me and curled around me.

Just like my father had done.

My mother gathered me in her arms and pulled me close. Whether she knew I was awake, I would never know. But what I did know is that the wet marks on my kimono were not mine.

And I still didn't understand the situation.

-.-

I woke the next morning to my mother's sleeping face. I had never really taken the time to study her. I had always thought that she would end up like my other mother. Betraying me, not caring about me, neglecting me.

But the more I learn about her, the more I'm convinced she's different.

I had her rounder face, and her soft eyes. My father had sharper eyes and his face was had a larger angle to it. Maybe Neji will resemble him. I looked more like my mother.

I touched my nose in thought, mine was pointier. I had didn't have either of their nose.

Hizashi Hyuga. Twin younger brother to the main clan member and next heir, Hisashi Hyuga. I sat up and looked at my hands. Was that even possible? They are part the parents of Rookie nine no? They should be in their teens? I mean Minato would have been 17 when I was born… and that was the age Hizashi had been… I guess they were part of the older generation. I know that the Ino-Shika-Cho group from this generation are younger, as well as Tsume…

I sighed trying to figure it out.

If I was Hizashi's child… it would mean that either I took Neji's place earlier on, or he will be my little brother…

I suddenly felt giddy at the idea of having such an important character as a little brother.

Neji… was a character I felt was needed in the Naruto story line but was never my favorite… well until he died. Like most fans, I really fell in love with him then.

I froze before shaking my head. I can't think of this now. I don't even know if he'll actually be born.

I slipped out of bed and tried not to wake my mother. Leaving the room behind me, I walked outside to the backyard where my father was practicing. His movements were graceful, but powerful. Forceful, yet fluid.

"Good Morning, Reika." He said, his eyes closed as he moved gracefully into his next stance. I snapped out of my trance to see him wipe sweat from his face with his kimono.

"Good morning, Otou-san." I answered.

"Come here." He said. I gave him a confused expression and he smiled at me.

I walked towards him before I stopped close enough to touch.

"We start sparing today." He said. Sparing? I grinned before looking down at my clothes, I was still in my training clothes from yesterday.

"Now?" I asked. He smiled.

"Yes."

I can honestly say that I got my ass handed to me and I didn't care one bit. By the end I hand a few scoffs where my father had playfully jabbed at me.

Laying on the patio floor, I caught my breath and watched the clouds float by enjoying the breeze.

"Are you listening to me, Reika?" My father asked. I grinned sheepishly and he gave me a soft smile.

"Maybe?" I said. He snorted.

"At least she's honest!" Came from the kitchen. We shared a laugh.

"Now Reika, I need to talk to you about yesterday." The dog. Kakashi and Sakumo.

Sound stopped from behind me indicating that my mother listened to our conversation. My father must have told her. My fists tightened around my clothes and a wave of anger hit me and I shut my eyes tight.

Control yourself, Reika.

"What are you going to do?" He asked me. He was sitting on his heels, hands clasped on his lap. I was sitting with my legs crossed. My fingers found loose threads on my kimono and started to toy with it.

Fear is not limitation, it is an opportunity to get better.

"I want to go see Kakashi," I said. "And I will apologize for my behavior."

My father let out a soft smile and I knew I gave the answer he was hoping for.

"Your father has a mission later today, we can head over in the afternoon." My head turned to the door. With spatula in hand, my mother smiled down at me.

I pouted.

"But I want to go now!"

-.-

With my mother's calming hand was on top my head, I stopped in front of the house.

I was scared of dogs. That is a fact. But if I really wanted to have a friendship with Kakashi I was going to have to face that.

Kohona also has a clan that uses Canines as their partners. The Inuzuka never left the house without their partner. So this meant that I will have to work with them. There was no choice. I had to face this.

I moved to the door and raised a hand. Hesitating for a second, I scowled and knocked.

I was tempted to use the Byakugan to see where the dog was but knew I would just find more.

I heard tussling from inside and my insides turned. My mother shifted slightly, and gave me a worried look but the door opened before she could say anything.

"Reika-chan?" Sakumo looked down in surprise.

"Good Afternoon, Sakumo-San." I said. I made sure my eyes never left his face. My emotions needed to be conveyed. "I wanted to know if Kakashi-kun wanted to play."

The older male looked over me to my mother in question. I could feel the smile at her lips and the shake of her head.

"Of course, we were about to head to the park for a little training, you are welcome to join us." He gave me one of those closed eye smiles.

"It's okay." I said fast. "We don't have to go to the park."

He looked at me in surprise.

"We can train in the backyard!" I said with a soft smile.

Sakumo stares at me for a good amount of time before he descended to my level.

"Bull hasn't left Reika, and we have more dogs inside." He said honestly.

I nodded.

"I thought so." He blinked, looked at my mother and she gave a nod.

"I'm sorry for yesterday." I told him with a bow as he moved out of the way. "I was caught off guard."

The white-haired man studied me for a few seconds before he smiled and stuck his head in the house.

"Kakashi!"

"Yes?" Came an answer in the next room. He peeked out and saw me.

"Reika?" He asked.

"Hi." I said with a grin. "I am sorry I scared you yesterday!"

Kakashi scoffed.

"You didn't scare me!"

Sakumo laughed before nodding to the kitchen.

"Let's take this party inside."

I moved into step at Kakashi's side as we were herded to the back door.

"The tears in your eyes said otherwise!" I teased.

"You had them too!"

"That's normal. I'm scared of dogs."

He stopped as I jumped off the porch.

"You're scared of dogs?" He asked in disbelief. I fiddled with my black training clothes.

"Yes. I had never seen them before and it scared me." I lied. It was a fluid as ever. I was a very experienced liar.

"Then why did you come? My dogs are not going anywhere."

I saw Sakumo talking with my mother inside, both of them had a smile on their faces. They must have a close relationship like my father and Sakumo too.

"Because my friendship with you means more than my fear of them."

He blinked a few times before I grabbed his hand.

"I bet you I can climb to the top faster than you!" I told him pointing to the willow tree in his yard. He snapped out of his trance.

"In your dreams!"

-.-

Hello readers!

Here i present you with another chapter. What do you think of Reika's reaction? Did i do good? I had so much fun writing this!

I made the chapter a bit longer due to the short ones that have coming out. I also wanted the whole incident in one chapter.

What do you think about having Hizashi as her father? I know a few of you have already guessed it, but i want to know your opinions. And any idea what Satomi and Hizashi were talking about?

Love you all and thank you for the views, reviews, favorites and follows.

RavenMocker6

 **Dark Rose Charm**... wow~ You sure are theorizing! I can tell you a few things to help you out here. Reika is only a few steps ahead of him due to her knowledge from her previous life. The fight is so deeply embedded in her that it makes her more advanced then the others. But in reality they are the same in terms of strength. As for Obito and Rin, you are getting somewhere here... but not exactly. But you will have to stay tuned to find out what this is. 3~ I'm going to try to make the chapters a bit longer from now on but i'm trying to make them flow well, so it is a bit tough.

 **Silverlined Phoenix** Well here is your first glimpse at how her past affects her in the Naruto world. But I haven't even started, be ready for a lot more. I'm glad you like Reika's personality, i do too, she's a badass! As for Kakashi's cuteness... I'm trying my hardest to portray him as a kid, so his adorableness has to be there. I had so much fun writing this.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6- Trapped Again

Months went by and I got much better with my clan's techniques a I incorporated chakra into my strikes. I had also begun to be quite proficient in my taijutsu.

You might be thinking that it must have been hard for me to adjust to such a graceful martial art since I was used to the hit until dead styles but it was the contrary. It was quite easy. This style was quite similar to the art of Baguazhang.

Baguazhang was a Chinese rural martial art which stemmed from the ideas of Taoism and Feng Shui. It relied on the idea that chi was an internal force that circulated in your body and to properly guide the energy, your movements had to follow a circular pattern. In turn this circular pattern makes the move effective by redirecting the energy.

I had seen an exhibition on it with my teacher in the past and had been quite fascinated by it. I had never really gotten the chance to really try it until now.

I walked in a circular pattern, my feet crossing with my palm facing my imaginary opponent.

And that was the only part I was not content with.

In my old style, crossing your legs meant you were unbalanced. Turning around in the middle of a fight gave your opponent a way to attack. But this style was based on that, and acted on the response given to the opening. It was based on flexibility and speed, not so much power.

Adding chakra to my strikes was also quite difficult.

To start with, I had to visualize the chakra bending and thinning out like thread before pushing it through my pores.

This being said, the only way I could tell if it was really working was by viewing it with my Byakugan.

A knock sounded from the front of the house and I stopped my practicing.

I caught the sweat that dripped from my forehead with my sleeve and moved towards the porch. I grabbed a hold of the cup of water my mother had placed there and inspected the covered plate next to it. I grinned at the sweets that laid under it, before an urgent voice took my attention.

"Now?!" I heard my father say loudly. Footsteps came from my parent's bedroom and headed towards the door.

The voices became quieter but more urgent.

I activated my Byakugan and looked past the walls. A man dressed all in black was talking with my father and mother. All I could see was his mask and cloak. And my parents had their serious face on.

Anbu. I realized.

"Okay. We will meet you in front of the Hokage tower in ten minutes. "

By the time I walked into the house and my father shut the door. My mother was already in the bedroom changing.

"You have to leave?" I said.

My father walked towards me and picked me up.

"Yes, there was a skirmish on boarder."

"But the war already ended." I told him.

"Yes, it did, but there doesn't mean that there is peace, my Daughter." He said.

I was brought to my room and he got out my backpack.

"I understand. Where am I going Otou-San?" I asked. This situation was severe, so I swallowed my nerves and concentrated on helping him. He stopped packing some of my things.

"Sakumo will be staying here, so we will be leaving you with him," I gathered some of my clothes and handed it over to him.

"But Sakumo a really good fighter, right? I would think he would be called too?" I asked.

My father shook his head before tying off the bag.

"He is Kakashi's only guardian after his mother died, and Sakumo is a heavy hitter and tracker. He won't be needed for the type of mission that we are going on."

"Hizashi," I looked up to see someone in the door of my room. They were in the standard Anbu armor. The mask of a swan hung in their right hand. The Anbu Tattoo was clear to the eye on the left shoulder.

When my eyes caught sight of the face I caught my breath.

"Reika, come." My mother said holding out her hand. My father gave her my bag and I took her hand in mine.

I felt useless adrenaline run through my veins.

"I have our packs, and I laid your uniform out on the bed." She told my father. He nodded before bending down to my level.

"I love you, Reika." He said and gave me a hug. He realized there was a chance he wouldn't come back. Anxiety filled me.

"I love you too, Otou-San." I told him. His hug got a bit tighter. I let him break it first and he leaned back on his heels and pat my head.

"Be good for Sakumo." I grinned and felt a soft tug as my mother lead me out of the room. Right before she left the house she adored her mask. She lifted me in her arms and preformed the tiger seal. With a blast of wind and leaves we appeared at Sakumo's door.

She let me down and knocked on the door. Sakumo answered seconds later. I stayed still for a few moments, still quite dizzy from the fast movement.

With one look he nodded, obviously knowing what was up.

"Thank you, Sakumo-kun." My mother bent down and gave me a hug.

"When will you be back?" I asked. She patted my forehead.

"Soon, Reika."

She didn't know.

"Okay." I grinned for her. "Stay safe, Okaa-San"

Then she was gone.

I looked towards the Hokage Tower, as if I would see her again before I felt a tap on my shoulder.

"Come now, let's go tell Kakashi the news."

Following Sakumo, we headed inside closing the door behind me. I cuddled my bag close as we ventured to the living room.

"Kakashi." My best friend was on the floor, rather than on the couch, reading a book.

"Yes Tou-San?" He said looking up.

He caught sight of me but someone else beat him to the punch.

"Hey! It's scared cat!" One of the dogs snickered. I glared at the nickname.

Bull, the big black dog that scared me months beforehand looked over to the Inu dog before getting up and sitting on him.

"Ow! What the hell Bull!" The dog barked.

"That's what you get for insulting someone." Sakumo laughed.

"Hey, Reika." I swallowed my nerves before putting my bag near the entrance and walking up to Kakashi.

"Hi," I answered sitting next to him. All the dogs were on his other side so I childishly used him as a physical barrier. "I'll be living here for the next bit."

He looked over to his father and an emotion passed through his eyes that I couldn't comprehend.

"Hizashi and Satomi are on a mission."

A grin split on Kakashi's face.

"This means we can train together all the time!" He got up and ran out of the room.

I looked at Sakumo in question but he gave me a shrug.

Kakashi ran back in soon after with a paper and a pencil.

"Now we have to plan what we will work on." He said. "This way we can train everyday, so will can become great shinobi!"

I don't think I have ever seen Kakashi so excited.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Sakumo look at us softly and in happiness.

"Are you listening to me!"

I looked back over to the Chibi and to the paper in front of us it was split in half by a line of black. His name was marked on top one side while mine was on the other.

"Now I am." I said. Taking a deep breath and trying my best to ignore my instinct to run away from the beasts not two meters to my left.

And so I worked with Kakashi. Sakumo came back with some cookies of both human and dog friendly and placed them around the group. He had a cup of tea in his hand and he watched us work. Once in a while, he would give his input but really he let us do our thing.

By supper we had a good plan. Thus we ate, all three of us and seven dogs. Then Sakumo had us take a bath. And yes, together. We were technically only three, get over it.

A grin never left my face as I stared at Kakashi's uncovered face.

I bet you're jealous.

But to be honest there wasn't anything very special. It was kind of anticlimactic. I shrugged and put a load of bubbles on his head.

He gave me his best three year old scowl. This fiasco ended with Sakumo trying to catch both of us as we ran out of the bathroom naked.

It was fun being a kid again. Causing mayhem had never been something I had done to my father in my past life. But I did it because I could in this life. While I had only done it once or twice with my now-parents...

Kakashi brings out the worse in me?

"Let's go you two!" Sakumo called. "Bed time!"

We groaned in sync before we started to laugh. I didn't like kids but Kakashi was a special case.

Although he had the outward appearance of a kid, he wasn't. At this point I think his maturity level must have been at the level of a eleven year old. Still a kid but didn't laugh at fart jokes anymore.

I liked him. In the platonic sense that is.

We were ushered into Kakashi's room and slipped into his covers as we were both still small enough to fit. Sakumo gave Kakashi and I a pat on the head before leaving. With the door left open a tad.

I yawned before facing the door and curling up for sleep. Kakashi did the same.

I was happy.

And I mean really happy.

Although my parents were gone, I knew they would be back, Sakumo acted like one of those Uncles that lets you get away with everything. And Kakashi was my best friend.

With that thought…

I couldn't help but compare. The person that I thought to have been my best friend in my last life and him. The main difference was that she's dead. She died before I did. And she betrayed me.

And all I hoped for, was that history wouldn't repeat itself.

-.-

A groan sounded next to my ear and my eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

I sat up and looked over at my bed mates.

Yeah, you heard me.

Mates.

It took me three nights to understand why Kakashi was tossing and turning in his sleep.

So let me ask you a question… What kid doesn't sleep with their dog?

But I was here, and even though I've been getting used to the idea of dogs being around, I was still on guard whenever they were.

This idea surfaced during the third night. Kakashi had tossed and turned so much, I was debating on suffocating him.

From my position in the bed I looked towards the door to see a nose peeking in.

I immediately tensed.

Brown eyes caught mine and I could see a sense of loneliness and of desire in them.

It was a large black nose so I was sure it was Bull.

The large bulldog was big, but apparently still a pup. He was Kakashi's first ninken.

I sighed before getting up.

"Reika?" Kakashi asked tiredly.

My three year old self, padded over to the door and opened it wide. Bull had his head on his front paws and was pleading with me.

For the first time I felt guilty for not getting to know the animal.

I took a deep breath and nodded my head over to Kakashi.

With scratching of the nails he barreled into the room and jumped onto Kakashi.

A squeal was heard before the kid laughed.

"Bull!" The chibi growled. A soft whine was heard. When I turned into the room, Bull was draped on the kid.

Padding back, I slipped under the covers and tried to ignore the large bulldog.

This led to the next morning, a weight draped on me, trapping me. When I opened my eyes, I recognized the feeling of Bull draping himself between us with his paws trapping me in place.

I looked at the dog in disgust before getting up. Kakashi's face seemed peaceful. Like he was having the best rest possible.

I guess the slobber in my hair was worth it.

I sighed before walking out of the room. I smelt a mouth-watering smell and followed my nose to the kitchen.

"Hungry?" Sakumo asked. I walked to the counter and saw one of the only things that I had missed from my own world.

"For Waffles?" Strawberries and whipped cream were next to it. "Always."

The white-haired man laughed and joined in. I brought over a chair and began to wash the strawberries by his side.

"Thank you, Reika." The sincerity in his voice made me look up from my task.

"You are welcome." I answered him automatically, thinking it was for helping with the food. But apparently it was not.

"When ninken are born they are regular dogs, by working with shinobi, they are infused with their chakra this allows them to be able to use it themselves. This allows for their brain to develop and can even slow their aging process." He told me. He removed a waffle from the machine and plopped it in a plate with the others. Pouring the mix back in, he continued.

"Bull is different. Yes he's a puppy, and still growing but by now, ninken are usually talking."

I froze, looking up at the white-haired man.

"He won't be able to speak right?" I asked.

"No, he won't. He will still get the other aspects but he won't be able to communicate. That is why he stays close to Kakashi. Kakashi accepts this and still wants to work with him. The other dogs used to bully Bull a lot because of this until we stepped in."

"He's a big baby that dog." I told Sakumo. The man laughed.

"That he is."

-.-

The second week came and went and I still had not received any information about my parents.

"I'm sure they will be back soon, Reika." Sakumo told me.

I sighed before glaring over my shoulder at my captor.

I regret 100% ever deciding that I had the courage to pet him. Because now he thinks I like him.

I was reading a book on basic chakra theory and the Big Baby came and laid his over grown head on my lower back, in the process trapping me. The worse part is that Kakashi and Sakumo thought it was the funniest thing ever.

I rolled my eyes, as a knock sounded and Sakumo left to get the door.

Kakashi laid in front of me studying his own book. I heard voices talking before Sakumo called my name.

Bull groaned but moved so I could get up. I walked out of the living room and turned into the hall towards the door. Behind Sakumo I saw an older man. I looked at him confused having never saw him in my life. But based on his long brown hair and pale eyes, I knew he was a Hyuga.

"Come with me." The older man ordered. I furrowed my brows before glancing at Sakumo. He shrugged his shoulders and moved out of the way. His eyes were full of suspicion.

I passed him and followed the elder out, taking one last glance at Sakumo.

"Good day, Hatake-San, she will be back in an hour."

We left and I sent another questioning glance at the elder Hyuga. His mouth was set in a line with his jaw tense.

I followed the crabby old man for a while before the suspense was starting to kill me.

"Where are we going?" I asked. A glare was sent my way but he stayed silent. This got me annoyed.

"Is it about my parents?" I said immediately after.

"Be silent, brat." He growled.

Studying him more, I noticed that he had no headband, nor any bandages. There was absolutely nothing on his forehead. And there was only one answer to who this person was.

He was of the main clan.

"Why?" I asked again slightly angered.

He ignored me once more as we turned into the compound and walked directly to the main house.

The guards at either end of the doorway bowed to the man and let us inside. This was the first time I had ever been in the main compound. It was a large Japanese style house with a porch all around the building. Surrounding the house was large stone walls.

A hiss escaped me as I tripped up the stairs and hit my knee on the wood surface. The man never stopped. I ignored the sting and followed him towards the nearby room.

He opened the door and looked at me expectantly.

I sent him one last glare before moving into the room.

It was dark, but it only took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust. Only three candles lit the room revealing the tatamis that were littered with ink. My eyebrows narrowed in confusion as I took a look at them. The ink make a circle in the center of the room with various different characters branching out of it.

A shuffle came from the right and I looked over to see someone was sitting in the candle light. It was my father.

"Tou..." I started with a smile, but it soon faded. It wasn't the same chakra. Similar but not the same. This was defiantly Hiashi. My uncle.

A force smacked the back of my head and I hissed in pain.

"You insolent impurity." The older man behind me growled. "How dare you insult the next heir of the clan by claiming they are of branch status." Anger flooded my being and I turned on the son of a bitch only for him to grab my arm.

He forced me into the center of the circle.

"Kneel." He ordered. I growled at him. But got another smack across the face.

"Hiashi." He said calling my 'Uncle' over.

"Yes, Father."

And that was my first meeting with my Uncle and grandfather who was still the head of the clan.

By the time I picked myself off the floor, my father's elder twin was in front of me and my grandfather gone.

I stared up into his face and saw a cold wall. An expression I had never seen on my father. No wonder Hinata will always be unsure of herself, her father would never let her see behind his guard.

His hand fit itself on my forehead and reality came crashing down on me.

A spark of pain flooded through the familiar white eyes before I could only feel one thing.

Misery.

My body convulsed on the floor, as the after effect wore on me. It felt as if a nail was driven though my skull and into my brain.

"It is done." My uncle said, probably to my 'grandfather'.

"You... bastard." I croaked out, unable to stop myself.

I was just able to focus my vision to see my grandfather glaring at me.

More pain flooded my mind.

I gripped my temples, my nails piercing my skin. Nausea took me and I puked up all I had eaten that day.

"Let this be a lesson." My 'Uncle' told me. "Respect your betters."

He turned around and left the room with my grandfather behind him.

"You are free to leave."

I stayed in the room for a good ten minutes, calming myself as best as I could. My body was weak and was not responding very well. I was clutching my head, as if it would make it go away.

After what seemed like forever, I felt my body begin to listen to me once again. I slowly got up, my body shaking, and rubbed at my tear-stained cheeks.

It wasn't okay.

This really was not okay.

This was slavery, and that is forbidden... no?

I chuckled quietly. Nothing is true, only permitted.

I wandered my way out of the room, leaving behind my puke for them to pick up, and left.

My mental health was in danger.

I felt broken.

I felt abused.

My feet took me to the forest near the park where I first met Kakashi. It was nearing supper at this point and all the kids were gone. Therefore, it was the perfect place to be alone.

I wandered far into the forest and sat by a tree.

Fresh tears rolled my cheeks as I remembered the humiliation.

It was fucked up. I got up and growled. My tiny fist hit the tree. And so did the other. The two alternated.

How can such an archaic practice be allowed to go on! How many must FUCKING SUFFER!

I cried out as a piece of bark lodged itself in my fist. I inspected my hands to see them full of blood and my knuckles busted.

But my eyes wandered to the tiny hands I called my own.

I was three. Fucking THREE years old. I wasn't an adult. I wasn't a threat. I was a Hyuga child.

My palms were the next to get the abuse. They had been lightly calloused over from the past year but soon were covered in blood too.

"Hey!" I ignored the voice in favor of destroying myself even more.

"Stop that!" The voice cried again. All I could think about was how it sounded like 'hers'.

 _"SHELBY!" A brown haired girl growled. I picked my ear and rolled my eyes. "Stop looking at me like that! You are going to destroy yourself!"_

 _"This is the only way, Karoline." I told her. What I didn't tell her, was that I was doing this to save her._

 _"No!" She growled again. "You fucking liar! You can get a job anywhere else! Why the fuck do you need to..."_

"Hey!" Someone grabbed my shoulder and I swung around to punch the fucker in the face but stopped recognizing who I saw.

He looked younger than in the Anime. His black hair much shorter and without the ringed scars around his eye. Instead, googles took its place

Yeah… This was Uchiha, Obito.

"What are you doing!" He cried. I looked at him in surprise. His hands found my wrists and took a look at my hands.

"Your hands are full of blood!" He yelled. He let go of my hands before pacing back and forth.

"Rin!" He cried! His panic was somewhat amusing to me. It was almost like a breath of fresh air, distracting me from my situation. His hand gripped my wrist, careful not to touch my hands, and dragged me along.

Putting my heels into the ground, I stopped all movement.

"I'm not leaving!" I growled.

"Okay!" He said not bothered at all by my reluctance. "Stay right here! I'll be right back!" As fast as he came, he left. This left me wondering what exactly happened.

Uchiha Obito. The kid that is supposed to die but ends up working as the bad guy. The reason behind the murder of so many people. I looked at my hand, ignoring the blood, and studied the clean area. It was in the shape of a small hand. Obito's hand.

Or maybe not. He is not that person yet. He is still a blank canvas. A child with the ability to change in anyway. To walk down his path as Madara or to truly become the Obito that is behind his mask.

"I'm back!" I looked up to see the kid running back towards me, his hand in another's.

The brown-haired girl was another that I recognized, two purple rectangles marked her cheeks.

Nohara, Rin. I looked at both of them with an indifferent expression, studying them. They were both young, but older than me, probably around 4 maybe 5.

"Obito!" The girl scolded. "Don't just drag me out here without a reason."

"I do have a reason!" He said. That's when she saw me. I've never seen someone's face change so fast.

"Oh my!" She came towards me and took my hands in hers.

Screw me for being curious. I let her do what she wanted. She studied my hands as I examined her.

Her brown hair framed her chubby kid face. Cheeks slightly puffed out accenting the tattoos on her cheeks.

She was cute, I must say Obito chooses nicely.

I tuned her back in and began to actually listen as she attempted to lecture me.

"What were you thinking!" She grabbed her pouch and brought it forward on her belt. "You can get an infection and die with something like this!"

She dug through the pouch and presented tweezers to pick out each piece of wood in my hand. I stayed silent watching her work as she kept scolding me. My eyes looked beside us where the potential disaster was pacing back and forth.

Worried.

That was the expression that rushed across both of their faces.

How could one be so worried for someone they just met? That thought puzzled me.

"There." Rin finished up with the bandages and put her hands on her hips.

"Is she going to be okay?" Obito cried.

"I don't know..." Rin but her lip.

"You should go to the hospital. I just started my medical training, I don't know this stuff."

"She's going to die!" Obito paled. I snorted in laughter before looking at my hands.

"Thank you." I said to the girl.

She gave me a smile and clasped her hands behind her back.

"My pleasure, my name is Nohara, Rin. But you can call me Rin."

"And I'm the Great Uchiha, Obito!" I stared at him blankly as he grinned without a care in the world.

... It was blinding. Like the sun.

"I'm Hyuga, Reika." I answered, trying not to seem rude. They did take care of me.

"Nice to meet you!" Rin said. Obito stuck out his hand and I just stared at it. I looked towards my bandages to his hand.

"Oops." He grinned and scratched the back of his head.

Dare I say it…

He looked adorable. And those big grey and orange goggles that looked so unbelievably awkward.

I almost let out a snicker but slapped my hand on my mouth to stop myself from making a sound. Thankfully neither caught it.

"So what did the tree do to you?"

I raised an eyebrow at Obito's question.

"You were beating it like it took your lollipop or something."

"Sorry for the trouble, I was angry so I figured it would be better than hitting someone's face." I said. I looked down, slightly uncomfortable with the situation. These were kids, they shouldn't have to know the dark side of the world.

At least not right now. That will have to coming soon enough.

"You should have just punched them!" Obito said fixing his goggles.

I watched Rin look at him distastefully.

"Violence isn't always the answer Obito." Rin responded. He grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head.

"Things are not always that simple." I told him. He narrowed his eyes in confusion but his words were cut off.

"Obito! Where did you pull Rin off to so YOUTHFULLY!"

Nope I'm out of here.

"Thanks again," I said turning around and started towards the forest.

"Let's meet again!" Obito cried after me while Rin chimed her good byes.

"And don't forget to take care of your hands!"

I looked back and gave them a smile.

I was touched they were worried.

No one had given two shits in my old life.

And I really have to stop comparing the two.

-.-

Sakumo stood still and looked down at me in shock.

"Hi Sakumo-San." I muttered.

Moments passed and neither of us said anything. I could feel his eyes burn at the sight of my forehead. The green seal burned bright, branding me.

His knees hit the floor and he pulled me into his arms.

"I'm so sorry." He said. I could feel him tremble.

"You couldn't have done anything." I said. He pulled back and I saw how his eyes moistened.

"This was clan business."

He wet his lips before brushing my hair back and studied the seal. He traced the nail marks that had punctured my skin at my temples.

I let him, there in his doorway, me still outside and him inside. Sadness and guilt plagued his eyes. He sighed before the vulnerability in them was covered up.

He gently took my bandaged hands and led me inside. He avoided the living room, where Kakashi probably was, and led me to the bathroom.

Closing the door, he sat me on the counter, and got the first aid kit.

I sat there, looking at the floor. Letting my hair fall into my face as his fingers unwrapped my hands and he studied the damage I did to them. He never asked how I busted them. Sakumo had a good sense of character, he probably already knew.

Big cracks ran in my knuckles and my palms looked like hamburger meat.

"Who took care of this?" He asked inspecting the care.

"A girl I met at the park."

He nodded and got out a few things from the first aid kit.

"She did a good job." He praised. " but I am going to disinfect this again to make sure all the wood is out. It will sting."

I felt the tingle and breathed deeply.

I could handle pain but I don't handle humiliation very well.

He then rubbed a cream on it and bandaged it up again.

I refused to look in his eyes. Pity wasn't something I took to either. He took care of the cuts on the sides of my head at the same time.

"We can bandage it up." He said. "Like your parents do, so no one will ever see it." I looked over into the mirror to stare at the seal that branded my forehead.

Sakumo stayed silent.

No, I won't hide it like that.

"Can you cut my hair?" I asked him.

He looked surprised but nodded. He put away the kit and grabbed a pair of scissors and a comb from the drawer next to him.

I put my hair in front of my face and he combed it through.

With a few clips, my long brown hair fell away and I had bangs.

It was a way to cover it up and not be too obvious. But with any rough movement, they would move and show itself.

I wouldn't be ashamed of this branding. The seal means they are scared of me. And of what I can do. And I will make it so that they will be scared. They will pay for what they have done.

Eventually, anyway. Maybe when I become Jonin, and have influence.

Well… If I survive that long.

"I'll wear it like this." I said. Sakumo chucked and shook his head.

"Hungry?" He said. I shook my head.

"Okay, you can head to bed early if you want." He said. I left the bathroom with him and walked straight to Kakashi's room. I undressed myself, put on pajamas and laid down to sleep.

Minutes later, the door opened quietly and two figures moved into the room. I recognized the tiny patter to be Kakashi. Even more so as he rushed to get ready and curled up, his back touching mine.

The other heavy steps and pushed his cold nose into my ear, I twitched moving back, just enough so that the big baby could crawl on the futon with Kakashi and I. This cause me to be trapped in the middle of the two warm bodies.

Bull gave a whine and cuddled closer to me.

And so I cried that night. I cried so hard but so silently. Clutching the fur of the animal that terrified me the most, tears ran down my cheeks.

And not once did my witnesses say anything. They let me deal with my emotions, but their body heat was more than enough comfort.

-.-

Hello Everyone!

Sorry about the week late update. Here's a big chapter as compensation! I'm finally home from Greece then got sick and then had work. And it really isn't and excuse but sorry!

I also would like to welcome Obito and Rin to the story line! I hope you like them!

Thank you once again for all your views, favorites, follows and reviews. I love you all!

RavenMocker6

P.S **FireBirdOn,** I'm sorry but i had to give her the Seal. It needed to be further the story.

 **Dark Rose Charm,** Neji will be a special case and he might be born. I have not decided yet. You also seem set on KakashiXReika... We will see about that. Anyway, i hope you enjoy this chapter as well. Can't wait for what you will say here...

 **Silverlined Phoenix,** AU? Yes, it will eventually be AU, but it might take a bit to get there. As for what Generation Hizashi belongs to. I found out that he is actually about 5 or so years older then Minato, this makes Hizashi and Hisashi around the age of 16-17ish when Reika is born and Minato around 11ish. But between the Anime and the Manga a lot of things do not make sense so i had to use my imagination a bit. And now you can soak up Obito's and Rin's cuteness too! Enjoy!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7- And so it Begins

For the next week, that incident plagued my dreams.

Nightmares fought to destabilize me, and I couldn't control them.

But for some reason Bull could.

He knew, and he pulled me out of them each and every time. He would nudge me, lick me, or stick his cold ear in my nose.

Then when I was awake, shaking in anger and fear. He would wake Kakashi who would snuggle closer, or the dog would do it himself.

It was obvious that both of them knew me by now. They knew I didn't like having people notice my discomfort, that I refused to feel weak in front of people. I faced my own problems. And Kakashi was only three! And he knew that! The kid was incredible!

Good news came once the calendar flipped and a month had passed since I had come to live with Sakumo.

This came in the form of my mother.

I had been at the park with Kakashi. Hanging around the monkey bars, and discussing the next step of our training when I felt someone stare at me. Too lazy to turn my head, I used my chakra to activate my Byakugan.

Noticing my reaction, Kakashi also looked around.

A grin split across my face and I dropped from the bars to run towards where Sakumo and my mother stood.

She was dressed in her traditional kimono. And it was like she never left.

I tackled her legs and didn't let go, even when she stumbled.

She laughed before bending down to give me a big hug.

"Welcome back." I told her. She kissed my cheek and smiled.

"It's good to be back." She said.

"I don't think I've ever seen you run that fast!" Sakumo laughed, his hands on his hips. I stuck my tongue out at him.

I saw Kakashi hanging back a bit and walked back over to him.

Gripping his hand in mine I pulled him over.

Once I came back, my mother was looking at me in sadness. Her eyes were wet and she put her hand on my head. Only then I noticed the sling around her arm.

I stilled and she brushed just a bit of my bangs to the side, so she could see the seal.

She gave me a soft smile before removing her hand to take mine.

"Thank you very much Sakumo-kun, Kakashi-kun." She told them.

"No problem," he said. "She didn't cause that much trouble." A wink was passed my way and I suppressed a smirk. If Kakashi and my crazy attics were anything to go by... aka messes and kunai sneak attacks and streaking... Yeah, we were very animate.

"Come back soon, Reika." Kakashi said.

I smiled. And it was a real smile. Kakashi is real. He's not a character in a story. This is my life now. And the kid is worming himself into my heart just as my parents and Sakumo-San had.

"Will do."

And then we left. My mother walked away with me and I could still see sadness in her eyes.

"Okaa-San?" I asked. She shook her head in response.

"It's nothing Reika." She said.

"How was yours and Otou-san's mission?" I asked politely.

"It was a success," she said. "Both your father and I have broken bones but we are okay."

I nodded and we entered the compound. An immediate weight fell onto my shoulders as soon as I did.

Confused I looked around. A couple of my clan mates were looking at me.

It was a look that I hadn't seen in a while. And it made me flush.

They looked at me as if they were better than me.

"Come Reika," I looked towards my mother and saw the guilt in her eyes.

We turned towards the house and went inside.

"Hisa!" My mother called when we got in.

"I'm on the porch."

I took off my shoes and ran out to the back yard. Like he said, his legs were spread out before him, with crutches on his right. His back was to me and I took advantage of that.

"Otou-San" I yelled and tackled his back.

He laughed and held onto my arms which wounded itself around his neck.

"Hello, Reika." He turned slightly to give me a proper hug. "I missed you too."

I smiled and pulled away.

"Were you good for, Sakumo?" He asked, I responded with a sly smile.

"Apparently our daughter thought it would be fun to talk Kakashi-kun into streaking with her across Sakumo-Kun's house." I looked over at my mother and grinned. "Four Times."

"It was fun."

They laughed and my mother joined us on the floor.

"We will pick up your stuff next time we go over." My father said. I nodded and started to retell more stories, most of them being about our training.

"Kakashi can now walk up and down a tree 5 times!" I said proud of the kid. He really was a genius at 3.

"Oh?" My father asked. "And what about you? How long does it take to make you tired?"

I fidgeted with my hands and looked away in embarrassment.

"10" I lied. It was higher than that.

My parents stared at me in shock.

That's when I really understood how different my control was.

"Is that bad?" I asked.

"No, Reika!" My mother hurried and said. "It's actually very good. Most people don't learn how to walk up trees until they are in the final year of the academy."

"Oh!" I said, clearly shocked. I had forgotten that fact.

"My genius." My cheeks reddened. I was happy but also quite wary. I had to tone it down my abilities a bit. After all, Danzo does exist.

His eyes went to my hands and he took them in his.

"What happened?" He asked. His voice sounded strained, and shocked.

He was talking about the scars.

The day after I was given the seal, I was brought to a medical-nin that Sakumo knew and he healed my hands, but the scars still remained and would only fade in time.

I looked away, keeping my mouth shut.

"Reika, tell your father and I please." My mother asked. I looked over at her before submitting to their wish.

"I was angry." I said. I felt like pulling my hands back, to growl and tell them to fuck off. But for the first time, I didn't want to. These people were nice to me, they appreciated me and they loved me.

"So I started to train."

My father looked over at my mother and a message passed between them.

"Is that why you have bangs now?" He said. His face was hard and it was the most angry that I had ever seen him.

"I'm sorry Reika." My mother said. Tears ran freely down her cheeks. "You should have never went through that alone."

She hiccuped and hid her face in her hand.

My father brushed back my bangs and stared at the seal.

"I wasn't alone." I told them.

I caught my father's eye as he looked at me in surprise.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"I had Sakumo-San, Kakashi, Bull." I told them. My mind wandered to my outburst in the forest.

"And I had Obito and Rin."

A lone tear rolled down my father's cheek.

"I wasn't alone." I told them as I gripped my pants. "I'm never alone."

And for once I believed it.

My father chuckled and pulled me into a big hug.

"Then we are sorry that we were not there." He replied.

I felt content. My life was falling into place. I could help but relies that my current life, even though I am growing up in a militaristic society, I feel more loved then when I belonged in the civilian.

"And who are these Obito and Rin kids?" My mother asked after a couple of calming breaths.

"Obito Uchiha and Rin Nohara. I met them at the park." I motioned to my hands. "After this."

Then I remembered the whole thing between the Hyuga and Uchiha. They hated each other didn't they?

I sat there looking between my parents before my mother sighed.

"I guess, we will have to meet up with them next time." My mother told my father.

Everything is okay.

I was safe.

I had friends and family to look after me.

And I was improving.

I think I'll be able to achieve something in this world.

-.-

Time went by and the fated meeting came.

"Well you're a fart face!"

"Dobe."

I sat on the swings next to Rin staring as the two became idiots, arguing over the littlest of things.

"Should we stop them?" Rin asked me clearly worried.

I smiled and became to pump my body, swinging high.

"Watch."

Once I was at the perfect height. I slipped off a shoe and aimed it directly at the boys. It hit Kakashi's grey head first before smacking into Obito's. Digging in my heels, I stopped myself and laughed.

"Reika!" My best friend growled. I stuck my tongue out causing Obito to laugh. Rin giggled into her hands next to me.

His angry face calmed as he picked up my shoe. Walking off, I watched him wander around with it.

"What are you doing?" I asked. I had a bad feeling and got off the swings to see what he was doing.

He found what he was looking for.

Bending down and hovered my sandal over the substance.

"Try it."

I warned with a glare. He brought it closer.

I launched my attack as soon as his eyes left me in favor of the pile of dog shit...

I pushed him back and my sandal went flying somewhere else.

It seemed like he was expecting it and immediately got into a superior position.

Play fighting only went so far as I gained the upper hand. I could hear Sakumo and my mother laughing at our attics. With Obito and Rin cheering us on. We continued for a couple of minutes until we heard a splat. We both froze, me pushing up his chin and him trying to shrimp out from under me.

"Eeeewwwww!" Obito cried out in disgust.

"Oh no!" Rin said, her hand trying to hide her smile.

Poor Obito.

"Oh my."

My mother covered up her laugh with her sleeve and watched Obito run to the grass and try and wipe the shit off his sandal.

"Why do we hang around him again?" I asked my best friend.

"You tell me." He said taking my hand. He nodded his thanks before brushing himself off. "You introduced him to me."

"Are you guys ready to eat?" Sakumo called. The three of us walked over to the picnic blanket. Kakashi sat down ignoring the curses from Obito leaving Rin and I to stare at the navy blue and orange clad boy.

I looked into the cooler and pulled out a water bottle. Tossing it to Rin I nodded to Obito. She got my subtle hint and ran off towards the Uchiha.

"That was nice of you Reika." My mother said, I plopped down and dug into the food Sakumo made.

I shrugged my response and grabbed a rice ball.

Obito and Rin came back soon after, and with my forgotten sandal too.

"Thanks Rin." I said slipping it back on my foot.

"You're welcome," she grinned.

They sat with us and we ate.

"Don't steal my piece of meat!" Obito growled, gripping onto the other side of the piece.

"I got to it first, loser."

"Kakashi..." Sakumo warned.

"So what! I was eyeing it."

I sighed and looked over at Rin who was clearly worried.

In one motion I snatched the piece from the boys and turned to the other girl and shoved it between her lips.

"Hey!?"

"Reika!"

And thus I continued to feast on this delicious meal.

-.-

"Obito's late." Rin said, worry laced her voice. We sat in the last row of the gymnasium of the academy. It was our orientation. A mandatory orientation. And we were already an hour into the meeting.

The instructor spoke in front of the six rows of children in front of us. I was in the middle with Kakashi to my left and Rin on the other side. Beside her was Obito's empty seat.

"What do you expect? This is Obito." Kakashi sighed, their relationship was still rocky but at least Kakashi didn't complain about Obito's presence anymore. Well, maybe not as much. Rin passed me a pile of envelopes and I glanced at the sole copy in her hand.

In the show, she had taken another one for our walking disaster. I watched her open it and start to examine the papers we received.

There was nothing on Obito's seat. She didn't grab another one. I looked back down at the pack and sighed. I guess I will play the 'hero.' My fingers curled themselves around two envelopes. I then passed the packages to Kakashi.

"Each one of you hold the future of the village and this is your first step in becoming great ninja." The instructor grinned.

"Who knows, maybe one of you will be the next Hokage."

The room erupted in chatter and the teacher walked off the stage, dismissing us.

In silence we moved out from the large gymnasium and out to the courtyard. Sakumo and my parents were still talking inside. They seemed excited. What proud parents sending their children to their deaths. My eyes closed and I followed Kakashi's signature to an empty area of the court yard.

"Obito never came." Rin started, worry lacing itself in her voice.

"He's an idiot, he'll never be a ninja at this point." Kakashi said to us. "That meeting was mandatory, without the papers we got, acceptance is futile." I bit my lip from laughing.

We are the Borg, Resistance is futile

Oh Star Trek.

"Coming through!"

Shaking my head I gave the extra package to Rin.

"But we were only supposed to take one!" She said. My finger found my lips.

"I won't tell, if you don't." I said. She grinned as Obito finally caught sight of us.

"Is it over?!" He cried. He bent over to catch his breath. "There was this, old lady, I couldn't leave her! She was carrying so many bags, and she could reach to put them away and her granddaughter wasn't home." He gasped.

"What do you think, Dobe!" Kakashi snorted. Tears started form behind his goggles but he struggled with holding them back.

"You should have been on time, Obito." I scolding him.

"It's okay, I guess." He grinned rubbing the back of his head. "I guess I can try again next year!"

Faker.

I nodded to Rin and she presented the package to Obito.

"Rei..." I cut her off.

"You're lucky you have such a great friend like Rin." I grinned.

The young Uchiha screeched and jumped Rin, enveloping her in a big hug. I smiled at the scene, not to mention I was glad that I wasn't the one subjugated to that torture he called a hug.

Eyes bore into my head from beside me but I ignored the intense stare from my best friend. I'll answer him when he actually asks me the question. I wasn't the hero type. I never was, so I will work from the shadows, helping but never taking credit. That is what I decided.

"This marks a big step in your lives, are you excited?" My mother asked. She stood in her traditional robes, her arm still in the cast.

Obito stopped his screeching and gave a thumbs up.

"You bet!" He said. "This way I can finally beat Kakashi!"

"Good luck with that." The later snorted from behind me.

"You three have to work harder now." Sakumo said placing his hand on his son's head. I smiled and nodded.

"Yes." Rin held her hands in front of herself and clutched her folder. "And we are all start together."

A smile made my way across my face and in the presence of my friends.

These kids. No matter how silly they may seem at the moment, are important. They are what sets the tide into motion.

I watched Kakashi roll his eyes at Obito who waved his hands animatedly and Rin who laughed, hiding the sound behind her envelop. These kids are what breaks or makes this world.

So why was I placed in this world? Why in this time? I didn't know I was biting the inside of my cheek until I heard the small clank of crutches beside me and felt a hand lay itself on my hand.

"Don't worry so much, Reika." I looked up at my father. He was watching the others. I looked over and 'saw'. My mother was talking with Rin while Sakumo was trying to split up the two boys. They were my precious people.

"I'm not worried." I lied. He chuckled.

"Right."

I frowned before he started to laugh.

"Whatever happens, will happen. My daughter." He took his hand off my head and held onto his crutches again. "You cannot let it stress you so early on."

"I'm not..."

"You are your mother and my daughter, My little genius." He interrupted. "You see things they do not, possibilities that they don't think of."

He was right. My eyes left his face before making its way back to my friends and family.

"There are things you cannot control, but that does not mean you are powerless."

He shifted.

"There will be times when a horrible situation arises. This is the life that is laid out for you. You will feel guilty and you will curse yourself. But you must remind yourself that you did all you could to prevent it." I felt naked in that moment. I felt like my father had just dissected me, like he knew me better then I knew myself. It was amazing how much of an open book one is to their parents.

"You are the main character of your own story." He said. "So make sure you know that you have a choice in how this story is written."

"The clan?" I whispered.

"Irrelevant." He said. My eyes snapped up to his. "We are destined to protect the main branch but today marks the first day that you are becoming something bigger. A ninja has a primary duty to their village above everything else."

"Yes father."

And thus, I made a promise. Not to my father, nor my mother, my friends, or the powers that put me in this mess.

I swore it to myself.

Kakashi.

Rin.

Obito.

You will not die. And I swear on my second life. I will change the future.

Because starting now.

This is MY life.

-.-

I was annoyed. Very annoyed.

With who?

Let me give you a hint. It's a woman. Brown hair too.

Rin grinned and chatted with the bane of my life. My mother.

My mother grinned at me from over her shoulder and I sent a glare.

"Cheer up, Reika-chan!" she said with a cheerful smile on her face. I dragged my feet down the road, slowly making my way.

She was so happy about this and I couldn't care any less.

I had told her that I could just wear my black turtle neck and pants to the academy. But No. Okaa-san is set on getting me a whole new outfit. She even went behind my back and invited Rin to go with us.

Speaking of the child.

"It's going to be fun, Reika." she grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the shop.

Shinobi Ware.

I looked up at the sign and wished it would burn. The 'e' was faded and I almost snorted in amusement. Ware became War. And this shop is selling us the tools which will prepare us to fight.

A gentle push moved me forward and I forced myself to walk in.

"Welcome!" the shop dealer called from in back. I looked around and immediately noticed how little there was in terms of clothing for adult shinobi beyond fishnet barriers, traditional black underclothing and shoes. In contrast, there was so much for children.

"Wow!" Rin said from behind me. "Why is there so much clothing for kids!" she asked my mother. My mother laughed ushering us towards the clothing racks.

"Usually, shinobi and kunoichi already know what their outfit consists of." My mother explained. "Thus we usually have our outfits handmade."

"Wow!" Rin was almost jumping for joy. I'm glad a least she's happy.

"We can stop by the weapon store after to buy some kunai and such." My mother brushed my hair back with her unhurt hand and kissed my forehead. Right on my seal. I gave her a soft smile. before looking around.

While Rin ran straight to the right, looking over loose shirts. I sighed in defeat before moving to the left. My eyes moved through the ranks and my fingers touch the material.

Too scratchy, too thin, too thick, too hot, not warm enough.

"Girls!" My mother called. I walked back empty handed. Rin had at least four outfits in her hand.

I stared openly as we had only been here for five minutes.

"Now you have not had a chance to start Kunoichi classes but I'm going to give you some pointers for outfits now."

She looked at the clothes that Rin had with her and studied it for a moment.

"So you two are the total opposite." She laughed. "One wants too many clothes, while the other doesn't like any." She patted Rin's head. Before she started to lecture.

"Everyone has different likes and dislikes when it comes to clothes. But whatever it is, you need to pick something that screams you." She said with a smile. "If you get put in the bingo book, this will be outfit characterize you and will project an image on your enemies."

I frowned.

"What about those who decide to stay with the standard uniform?" I asked. My mother smiled.

"Usually that is because they have noticeable characteristics that already take care of it." I thought back to future Kakashi. Slanted headband, one Sharingan, and law. Defying silver hair. Genma? Bandana headband with a senbon in his mouth.

I get it.

I nodded before looking over the ranks again. This is going to suck.

"But right now you should be trying out different outfits. You'll eventually find the right one, and it will change as time goes on and different events characterize you."

I silently processed her words.

"I get it!" Rin replied. "We also have to keep in mind what kind of ninja we want to be."

"Exactly." My mother said.

"I understand." I said looking over the racks. "So since Rin wants to be a medic, she should have her hands free, nothing going passed forearms or wrist to facilitate healing and emergency surgery."

My mom blinked in surprise.

"Yes, exactly."

Rin grinned giving me a fast hug.

"Thanks for the tip, Reika!"

I gave her a small smile before turning to my personal hell.

We finally got out of there four hours later. With everything we needed.

Rin bought a few short sleeve pink shirts and some black tights. With her budget being low, due to being an orphan, she didn't have the luxury of getting more expensive clothes. I have given my mother a look soon after and she picked up extra school supplies such as kunai, and scrolls at the weapons store to help Rin out.

I personally chose a basic outfit.

As a Hyuga, everyone will know how I fight. Our taijutsu is distinctive, therefore I need some sort of cover to confuse others with my hand movements. I chose a basic black kimono top with a mesh undershirt. The sleeves of the Kimono flared out effectively hiding my hands. It was tied with a red obi and I had black tights underneath. Think similar to young Orochimaru but in black and ending at upper thigh. I had also snagged red ribbon which I now tied my hair back with in a ponytail leaving only my bangs to frame my face.

I must say, it was cute.

"I approve of both of your outfits!" My mother smiled and we walked down the street with them on.

"I'm excited to go to school on Monday now!" Rin said bouncing up and down. i rolled my eyes. I was definitely not looking forward to it.

"How about going out for some Mochi ice cream?" She continued. Both Rin and I stopped walking and eyed my mother.

"Strawberry?" We said at the same time.

"Yes."

We shared a grin and followed after my mother.

-.-

Hello Everyone!

May I present to you chapter seven of Karma's a Bitch! Next chapter is the academy, so my question is now... Who is going to be their teacher? It will be a Canon Character.

Once again thank you for all the views, favorites, follows and reviews.

Love you all,

RavenMocker6

 **Forever In Oblivion** , I'm glad that you are enjoying it! I'm also glad I have not scared you away with my bad grammar and spelling. And Yes... Hyuga. I actually went through a lot of the clans trying to think of the best one to oppose everything she is. War Angst is definitely coming up, i will not lie. But remember who Reika/Shelby is throughout it. She is already somewhat a war veteran when it comes to fighting. Neji has yet to be decided, but whatever my choice will be... you can bet its going to be Dramatic in someway! Thank you for he comments, I can't wait to here from you again.

 **Dark Rose Charm** , I never said she would not meet Gai. Oh, she definitely will. Reika just did not want to at that moment. I honestly think that she would have probably punched him in the nose for being overly excited. The Clan will not be spared from her wrath, don't you worry. KakashixReikaxObito, eh? Would be cute, but i think i may have come to a decision already. Who will it be? You will see in later chapters... Thanks for the loyal reviews, I know I can count on you to tell me what you think!

 **mercurae** , I'm glad you like Reika. She has been a character that has been floating in my head for a long time. As for choosing not to hide her mark, I think it fits her personality very well. Reika does not take shit from anyone! Thanks for reviewing!

 **Lady Syndra** , I think so too. That is why I found it so important for Reika to be put in this clan, Because it is so fucked up! There are many other reasons why, and you will see them soon enough. I wish she could, but Reika is just too lazy for that. She's good at fighting, not at communicating with others what so ever. She's too reserved.(in my opinion anyway.) Thanks for the comment, and I'm glad You share my view on the Hyuga clan.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8- The Beginning of a Ninja

We walked into the same room that the Rookie Nine would use years into the future and I snorted in amusement. Oh, the irony!

"What's so funny?" Kakashi asked. I shook my head before climbing the steps so we could reach the back. I reached the window seat first before plopping down. Kakashi took the seat next to me and started to take out his materials.

Such an organised little shit. I would have hated him in my old life. I was good in school only because I had an excellent memory, I often wrote down my notes but never looked them over afterwards. I guess I was also hated because of my lack of studying. But this only pertained in the topics I was interested in…

For instance, History, Ancient languages, Religion, Modern Greek, and Gym. I was good in those. My grade would average a 90.

French? Science? Mathematics? Fuck them. I passed with a 65 and I was happy.

I placed my head on my arms and looked out the window. I was not looking forward to school again.

"Hi, Reika-chan, Kakashi-kun." Rin said moving up the stairs to sit in the seat in front of me.

"Morning." I said leaving my head in my arms.

"Tired?" She asked. I sent a small glare and she giggled. Rolling my eyes, I ignored her in favor of watching the other kids spill into the classroom.

Red spiral eyes. Definitely Kuranei.

Orange sunglasses and spikes black hair. Aoba.

Brown shaggy hair with a black cloak... I cocked my head to the side. I didn't recognize him. I let my eyes follow him up the stairs before taking the last seat in the middle row. His small hands pulled out his school supplies. His placed his bag on the ground and sat in his chosen chair. Not even a second later he placed a pencil between his lips. I smirked into my arms. Genma.

My attention was suddenly taken by a loud clap from the front of the classroom.

At first I didn't recognize the young man. He was tall and thin, with brown hair tied in a high ponytail. He had dark eyes with a thin mustache. The flak jacket covered a long sleeve black turtleneck, with mesh peeked out from his sleeves.

"Alright class, settle down." He called just as the door suddenly slammed open.

My white-haired best friend huffed in disbelief beside me.

"I SWEAR I'M NOT LATE!" Obito yelled.

"You could have fooled me." Sensei said raising an eyebrow at the trouble maker.

Obito grinned before looking over the class. I let my hand drop and pointed to the seat we had kept for him. He caught my eye and ran up to take his spot with a smile. I raised my head towards the front of the class, and laid it on my hand. My eyes closed slightly and I let my mind lowly drift off. Its too fucking early for this.

"Good morning everyone. My name is Umino Ikkaku and I will be your instructor for the next few years." My eyes snapped open and my head fell off my fist, almost hitting my desk. Kakashi caught the movement and raised an eyebrow in question. I shrugged, brushing off the look and sat up straighter, now giving our Sensei my full attention.

His eyes caught each of ours like he was trying to memorize who we are as he spoke.

"I'm currently a Chunin and will be in charge of your learning in every area of training." he picked up a piece of chalk from the board and outlined the week for us.

"Everyday we will start with attendance before moving outside for a morning workout, then kunai training." He said, his handwriting was neat and clear, but I don't even know if all the kids even understood what he was writing.

But who would have thought that I would get Iruka's father as my teacher. From what I knew, he was supposed to be strict. I hummed to myself listening in as he continued.

"Afterwards we have a break before we continue with chakra theory and history of the great nations along with various other topics depending on the day. Lunch follows where you will have an hour break. Taijutsu training and gendered classes follow."

Gendered classes. I glanced at Kakashi only to see him focusing 100% of his attention in front of us.

So it wasn't just the kunoichis who had to go to special classes. The boys had to as well. If Kunoichi classes were to help girls become more feminine, then the shinobi classes was for boys to be taught to be manly. Sexist much?

"Today we will only be an introduction to everything, the real training starts tomorrow." He stated. He placed the chalk back down and brushed off his hands.

"Any questions?"

"When do we get to learn cool ninjutsu!" One of the kids asked. He snorted.

"Your last year."

"What?!" Obito cried. "But I want to learn it now!"

"Too bad." He cut off before answering another question.

"How long do you think it will take us to graduate?" Kakashi asked.

Umino-sensei smoothed out him mustache and took his time answering the question.

"Usually you can get out when you are around 10." He stated before averting his eyes. "I recommend that you take this time, but if you have potential, you can apply for an early graduation starting at the end of your first year." I watched Kakashi's eyes narrow as he settled back in his seat. It was a typical question from him. He wants to prove himself. To live up to his father's reputation.

Our teacher continued to answer questions but I was no longer paying attention.

"I bet you I'll be out within two years." Kakashi looked at me expectantly. I snorted before burying my head in my arms again.

"We will be taking this year's graduation exam." I predicted.

A piece of chalk was sent my way but I caught it before it could hit me.

"That was mean, Sensei." I called out. I placed the piece of chalk on my desk top and looked at him.

"Pay attention, Hyuga."

-.-

"Ready to go, Reika?" Rin asked.

I sighed before getting up off my seat and grabbing my bag. I took one look at my collection of chalk piece. There was three pieces. I grabbed them before following Rin to the front of the room.

While the boys stayed with Umino-Sensei, the girls were going outside to meet our kunoichi teacher.

"Here is your chalk, Umino-Sensei," I said with a smirk. If looks could kill, I swear I would have died three, now four, times today.

"We are going to have trouble getting along aren't we?" He asked. I pursed my lips.

"Don't worry Sensei, you will only be with me for a year." I told him before leaving. I ignored the surprised look he sent me before following Rin out the door.

"Why only a year?" Rin asked."Umino-sensei is our teacher for the next few years."

"Kakashi and I are planning on trying to take it this year." I said following her.

"But you are only four!" She said. "We have at least four more years to go. Since you guys started early."

I hummed but didn't answer her.

I wasn't going to leave Kakashi to graduate on his own. No way.

When we reached the outdoor training grounds, I looked around curiously for our teacher. I wanted to know if it would also be someone I knew.

I was actually quite excited to know, not for the class. Just the teacher.

"Come around future Kunoichi." A strong feminine voice said.

Rin and I followed and took a seat near the back of our group of eighteen girls.

The Kunoichi must have been in her thirties easy, maybe thirty-five. She's had long brown hair which was tied up in a ponytail. The standard Jonin outfit and vest covered her body. All in all, she looked oddly familiar.

She clapped two times and everyone fell silent.

"My name of Biwako Sarutobi and due to a lack of available kunoichi at the moment, I'll be overseeing your classes until a replacement is found."

Holy shit.

That's the Hokage's wife.

Chatter erupted and the girls looked excited. My eyes caught Rin's and suddenly I felt as if this class may get somewhat more interesting.

-.-

The stares of hate were shot down the moment I closed the door our house.

"Taidaima." I called slipping off my sandals.

"Welcome home, Reika." My mother called.

"How was your first day?"

I wandered to the back porch, where my mother was sipping on tea.

"Not bad." I said. "It was all introductory information."

"How do you like your teachers?"

I made myself comfy beside her.

"I am interested in what they will be able to teach me. But am afraid I will become bored." I admitted.

"Who are your teachers?" she asked.

"Umino Ikkaku and Sarutobi Biwako."

"Lady Biwako?" My mother said surprised. I nodded my head.

"You lucky girl!" She said with a grin. I took out a scroll and handed it to my mother. We had all got one, told to give it to our parents or guardians.

She opened it and read through it.

"It is your training regiment for the next few years." A frown appear on her face.

"What is the matter?" I asked.

"I'm afraid that you, and probably Kakashi will be pushed forward." she said with a sigh. She put down the scroll and looked out to the trees that surrounded our little yard.

I had guessed as much

"How long do you think I will be in the Academy for?" I asked her. She patted my head and her smile turned sad.

"Not very long." She answered.

"Is that bad?" I asked her. She took a sip of her tea.

"I just wish you would have a childhood, Reika-chan." her fingers tightened around her cup. "But I know I will not be able to hold you back for very long. My daughter the Genius." I blushed. My mother never really called me that, it was a name my father had taken to calling me. Even if this 'genius' as they puts it, is only because of my previous life.

"If I had a choice, I would like to play dumb." I admitted to the woman. My mother looked at me shocked, obviously not expecting those words from my mouth.

"But someone has to look over my Baka-Best Friend." I told her, I couldn't help the soft smile that appeared on my lips. Looking over at her, I was surprised to find her eyes wet.

"You are too much like me sometimes." She said pulling me in for a hug.

"Is that a good thing?" I asked before I could help myself.

"I have no idea!" She laughed. her arms were warm, and I snuggled into her embrace. It was rare, to let myself be held like this. It felt like I was weak, but if I had to be honest with myself… I loved it.

-.-

Smack

I caught the chalk and placed it beside its three other friends.

"Now that you are up, Hyuga, will you please solve to mathematical equation on the board."

I think Umino was starting to get annoyed with my lack of attention. But I really couldn't help it, I was bored.

Therefore, to relieve this boredom I was using my time wisely and was working on my chakra control. I would slow and speed up the flow, then concentrating it in various spots like my hands then seeing how much was the bare minimum to get it to stick to objects.

I looked up to the board and read the question. We sped through addition and subtraction and started on multiplication.

8X10.

"80" I said before placing my head back on my arms. Umnio frowned, clearly not happy that I already knew that. But he ignored me before continued his lecture, leaving me to smirk in response. That's what you get for trying to pick on me.

My eyes drifted to kakashi. His eyes were facing toward Umino-sensei, and it looked as if he was giving his full attention. A small movement from under his desk caught my eye and I leaned back to sneak a peek.

He held a leaf on his hand, watching it, the leaf slowly moved on top his hand.

That little brat was doing the same thing I was. I smirked once again before checking on the other two. Rin was writing furiously, clearly paying attention, but Obito on the other hand looked like he was about to burst. His face was red, and I could almost see the steam coming out of his head.

"Alright, that is enough for now." Umino-sensei called to us, successfully catching my attention. "Lunch time."

He barely had enough time to speak before half the kids ran out the door.

"Four times!" Obito grinned. "Really Reika?"

"I'm bored." I groaned. Rin and Obito laughed and I toyed with the pieces of chalk on the desk

"It will get harder as we continue, it is still basics at the moment." Rin said. Kakashi snorted in disbelief and I was in agreement.

Rin got out her lunch and motioned for us to follow. Once outside and sat together under the nearby tree. Obito and Rin, occupied most of the conversation, with Kakashi putting his two cents in every time Obito said something stupid. Judging by the pinch in his mask and his comments, I think Kakashi was amused by the Uchiha's reactions, that's why he riled him up on purpose.

I just enjoyed the show. I laid back on the ground and closed my eyes.

I still had not come up with any sort of plan concerning the events that were to occur, except for the fact that I would work from the background. If I could, I will make it so that no one could trace the events back to me.

Somehow...

I sighed before draping my arm over my eyes. But my first task would obviously be getting Obito and Kakashi on better terms...

"Shut up you chibi old man!"

"Stop fighting you two!"

"Hn"

"Oi! That's an Uchiha thing copy cat!"

Oh my, I have my work cut out for me.

Another thing I had to figure out was what type of fighter I was going to be. Like you have probably guessed from the information I have given you. In the past I was a MMA-Street fighter. I had studied many different martial arts, and fought many as well making me a 'mean' 'Taijutsu' master in a civilian world. But since I was no longer good enough, and I couldn't really use those types, I had to come up with another way.

"Are you guys excited for tomorrow!" I cracked open an eye to look at the energetic Uchiha.

"Why would we be excited about tomorrow?" I asked.

"We start sparing." Kakashi said. I groaned, this is going to be even more boring. The only person in my level in taijutsu was actual Kakashi himself.

"I'll finally kick your butt!" Obito grinned pointing to my best friend.

"Good luck." He muttered, he sneaked bites every once in a while. Waiting for the right time when Rin and Obito were too distracted and not looking.

"What type of fighter do you guys want to be?" I asked suddenly. I figured that I could probably get some good ideas from them.

"A kick-ass fighter with amazing Jutsu that will earn me the Hokage seat!" Obito grinned giving me a thumbs up. His other hand toyed with the googles on his eyes.

It was actual quite cute.

"Whatever you say, Dobe." Kakashi said, riling him up again. I tuned them out and focused on the other female in our group.

"Well, I want to be an medic-nin." Rin said. She touched her cheek in thought, right on her rectangular marks. "But I also know that I'm going to have to fight, so I would love to be like Lady Tsunade. Being able to use super strength and our knowledge of the human body to attack weak areas." I could see the sparkles in her eyes already.

I laughed at her fangirling before turning to the last kid of the group.

"I want to be well-rounded." Kakashi replied, "but I think I want to focus a bit more on ninjutsu and kenjutsu."

I was surprised to know that he was interested in kenjutsu. But I must say it was fun.

I had tried various different weapons in my old life. Sword fighting happen to be one of my favorites. That along with Bo staff, archery and Kali sticks. I smirked to myself.

I might actually become the first Hyuga to fight with weapons.

"What about you, Reika-chan!" Obito asked.

I sat up and pursed my lips.

"I don't know yet." I said honestly.

"I have my clan taijutsu and my kekai genkai as my main arsenal, but I don't want to be stuck either. so i have to find something else."

"Ninjutsu?" Kakashi asked. "To cover long distance."

"I think weapons is more her thing." Obito grinned. "A Hyuga with a weapons specialty! That would be so cool!" His eyes shined and I could help but laugh.

"What about genjutsu?" Rin asked.

I cocked my head.

"I didn't take that into consideration." I said.

"Thanks Rin. You two as well."

Rin and Obito grinned.

"What are friends for!"

The bell rang and I groaned.

"Taijutsu class." Rin said.

We got up and made our way inside the building.

Reaching our class Obito pounced in his seat, clearly excited.

"Alright class," Umino-sensei picked up another piece of chalk before turning to the board. He placed numbers 1 to 5 in horizontal order.

"Tomorrow we will be starting sparing so we need to go over some rules before hand."

The class erupted in chatter, clearly excited.

"Woot!" Obito cried, pumping his fists in the air. Rin giggled and Kakashi rolled his eyes. Holding my face up on my knuckles, I smiled. They were so innocent it was unbelievable.

"Settle down!" He growled. The room fell silent once more.

"Rule number one." He began to write on the bored. "Under no circumstances is deadly force allowed to be used."

"What does circumstance mean?" Someone yelled out. Our sensei sighed before answering. It seems like he forgot that most of the kids in the room were between the ages of 5-6. I was the youngest at 4 with Kakashi only a month and a half older.

"Let me rephrase that." He erased what he wrote and wrote something else.

"In no way or time is movements with the intent to kill or really hurt your opponent allowed."

Now that's a phrase that these kids would understand.

He continued with the second rule.

"You are to follow my instruction. If I tell you to stop, you stop."

All these rules were a no brainer.

"No Kekai Genkai."

"That sucks!" I huffed, I had yet to try the Byakugan in a spar other then with my father.

Another piece of chalk came my way and I grabbed it from thin air.

"Missed me, sensei."

WHACK

I cradled my forehead with my hand.

"Detention after school today, Hyuga."

Shit.

"PFFT!" Obito laughed. "Serves you right, Reika!"

"Owww!"

"You too, Uchiha."

I stuck my tongue out childishly at Obito and he frowned still rubbing his forehead. I was actually proud it took this long for me to get a detention.

Out of the cornor of my eyes, Kakashi sent Rin a glare. This made her erupt into giggles from under her hand.

I raised an eyebrow placing the two pieces of chalk with the other four.

It was a record. 6 pieces.

A piece of paper was passed my way and I looked at Kakashi in question. Was he trying to get in trouble with me.

'I bet Rin that Obito would be the first to get a detention. She bet that it would be you.'

'What did you bet on?' I stole Kakashi's pencil and wrote it below his chicken scratch. I know, it was surprising.

'Food'

'I better get some.'

Kakashi snorted in laughter before I crumpled the piece of paper and flicked it at Rin's shoulder. In bounced off and landed in her lap. I smirked as she didn't react but was slowly opening it with her fingers.

I watched as Rin wrote her reply before stretching back. The paper flicked onto my desktop and I opened it discreetly under the desk.

Kakashi shifted to look at it as well.

"But of course, Reika-chan."

I grinned. Did I ever said that I loved food? Well I do. A lot.

-.-

"Reika-chan. Can you please explain to the girls why your outfit would be beneficial when fighting?"

I got up from my spot on the ground and faced Biwako-sensei.

"Yes, sensei." I said before looking down.

"I have a mesh under layer to act as a light armor. My Black tights act as a flexible material to help with my taijutsu. This way my legs won't get stuck this way and I don't have to tie down the ends of my pants. My sandals are open toe and thick soled to aid with the flexibility of my feet. The thick soles also act as an extra defense and for comfort so that running long distances do not injure my feet. My kimono top is tied shut, to prevent my upper movements from being stalled. The sleeves are loose to hide my hands. By hiding my hands, I can conceal not only weapons, but due to my family's Kekkei Genkai, it also aids in confusing my opponent as to where my hands really are and which chakra point I am aiming for. That is why I chose this outfit."

I sat back down next to Rin and concentrated on Biwako-sensei's reaction.

She was silent for a few seconds but a small smile appeared afterwards.

"Very good, Reika-chan." She looked around for a few seconds before calling on someone else. But for the rest of the class I felt as if I was getting a little bit more attention then the other girls. Some times it was directly, as in being asked a question, while other times it was more of a look.

"I didn't realize that was the reason why you chose the kimono top!" Rin said later on. I shrugged, stretched and got up off the floor.

It was detention time. We made our way to our classroom where the boys were and walked in as they were pouring out. I made my way up to my seat.

"I'll pass by your house with my dad on the way home." Kakashi said.

"Thanks." I told him. He nodded and left.

"Bye Reika-chan! Obito-kun!" Rin called catching up with Kakashi.

I looked over at Obito to see him staring at me.

"It all your fault." He whined. I rolled my eyes.

"You didn't have to comment."

"Shut up." He muttered. I couldn't help but snicker.

"Enough you two." Umino-sensei said. We looked up to see him standing next to us.

"Do what do you want us to do?" I asked.

"The desks haven't been cleaned yet." He said. I looked up to see two cleaners and rags on his desk. "Neither has the chairs."

Obito groaned.

"A great ninja shouldn't have to clean chairs."

"Great ninja listen to instruction and does not complain." Union-sensei smiled.

"Yes they do. They need to be able to understand what is the right decision to be able to make it." I said. I didn't realize I said it until I felt a glare.

"The floor needs to be swept as well."

I frowned but kept my mouth shut.

He walked down the stairs again and headed to the door.

"I'll be in my office if you need me." He said and closed the door behind him.

A few seconds passed before Obito turned to me.

"Reika!" Obito growled.

"Couldn't help myself." I answered with a shrug. I descended the stairs and reached for a bottle and cleaner. Making sure the lid was on tight, I threw it to the hyperactive Uchiha.

He sighed and caught them.

"What do you want to focus on?" I asked.

"Chairs." He said before running to the back.

I rolled my eyes before starting with front desks. I listened to Obito's grumbling with amusement, before deciding to take a different approach.

"Are you having a hard time with anything." He stopped working with a chair in the air, and looked at me.

"No way! I'm great!" He said.

"Right!" I teased.

"Just you watch! I'll be Hokage some day!" He said pointing at me. The chair almost slipped but he caught it in time.

"You do that."

"Reika!" He whined. "Believe me!"

I couldn't help but laugh.

"I do, Obito." I told him. The chair finally fell from his hands, barely missing his head.

"Really?" he said.

I nodded.

"But before you can become Hokage we have to get these desks cleaned."

"But this sucks!"

"Oi! Get back to work you two!" A voice called from outside.

"Yes, Sensei!"

-.-

Butterflies danced in my belly as I exited the school with Obito chatting away next to me.

I spied my mother waiting by the gates, but refuse to look at her face.

"Someone's in trouble." Obito teased. I sent him a glare but he laughed it off.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Reika!" He ran off soon after, leaving me to the mercy of my mother. I watched his back as he speed passed her saying hello before taking off alone.

"Reika." My attention turned back to my mother and I continued my way to her.

"Hello, Okaa-san." I said cautiously. She raised an eyebrow, and folded her arms in front of her.

"How was school?" she asked. I shrugged, waiting for the nagging to start.

"Use words my daughter." She scolded. I sighed.

"Boring." I answered. "And yours?"

A smile appeared on her face.

"It was wonderful. I got my cast off, and when I got home, your father had made me lunch. Then we sat down and read for a few hours, enjoying the fresh air on the porch." We continued to walk down the street, heading towards our district.

"Then when I was preparing supper, Sakumo-kun and Kakashi-kun came by." She said. "They told me that you had a detention so I had to come pick you up later."

I waited for the unavoidable scolding.

"I invited them in, and the four of us ate supper." Her voice was soothing, and not a hint of anger or frustration was laced within.

"Soon after your father left to meet with his brother, and Sakumo-Kun and Kakashi-kun left to go home. I left at the same time to come get you."

Honestly it was a bit annoying, this suspense.

"So that was my day." She said.

I stopped in the middle of the road and stared at her.

"Reika-chan?" she asked, her head tilted in confusion.

"What are you not angry?" I asked bluntly. "I got a detention, that's bad."

She stared at me for a couple of moments before she turned her face, bringing her hand to her mouth. Her shoulders shook and my gut dropped.

A snort came from her mouth before she couldn't hold it and she clutched her sides in laughter.

"Angry? For a Detention?" She laughed.

"I brought shame to the clan!" I cried. She bent down and gathered me in her arms. I held onto her shoulders as she held me on her hip. My small size hit me hard in that moment. I was so small compared to her, even though I was technically older.

"I am going to tell you a secret." She said, brushing a long piece of my brown hair out of my eyes.

"Despite what Hyuga children are supposed to be like, your father and I realized very early after your birth that you would not be anything like them." She walked on, carrying me as we went. "So we are not going to expect that you are going to behave like them. Honestly I do not think you can."

"I can be respectful, and obey when I want to." I said just for argument's sake.

"I know you can, but when you feel comfortable with someone, your true personality bleeds through." I blinked in surprise. "You are really not that sneaky my daughter. You should not have to feel as if we are trying to suppress you."

"But that still does not explain why you are not upset, I challenged a teacher during class." I told her.

"We know, and your father owes me another meal because of it." She grinned.

"What do you mean?"

"I had bet him a year ago, that you would get a detention within the two month of being in school. He bet that it would be in the third."

"You both bet that I would get a detention…" I said in disbelief. Them too?!

"Yes." She laughed. She put me down near the gates of the district. "Do not get me wrong, I am disappointed that you challenged someone in the position of authority, but it was a small comment, you know better then to put yourself or anyone else in danger."

I followed her into the house.

"Does this mean I can have a detention and I will not get in trouble because of it?" I asked.

"No, you will not." She said. "But should you get one, I will not come and get you. You will have to walk home alone. Is that clear."

I grinned.

"Crystal."

"And please do not go crazy."

-.-

Now, Imagine my surprise when a small boy was ushered inside the classroom the next day.

Surprised and slightly panicking.

"Good Morning!" The boy yelled, a flush to his face. "My name is Might Guy, I will be joining the class as of today."

"I can't believe he got in." Kakashi muttered next to me. "He's weak, can't even mold chakra."

I frowned at his response.

"Chakra isn't everything, Kakashi." I told him.

"My dad said the same thing."

I hummed and looked at the boy.

"Ah! Rin-Chan! Obito-Kun." He called out waving his arms back an forth in excitement.

I cringed. The monstrosity is coming near us.

He had a messy version of his later mushroom cut, and wore an orange bandanna around his neck with a grey sleeveless jumpsuit. It was better then his later uniform, but still looked awful.

"Perfect. Nohara, Uchiha, I hope you can aid in getting him adjusted in the class." Umnio-sensei called. I groaned, realizing that he was going to be the newest addition to our little gang.

"Yes, Sensei."

And so that is how I met Might Guy.

-.-

"Now we will be doing one on one spars today." Umino-sensei stated. We sat on the dirt in front of him. He held a clip board in one hand with and a pen in the other. "When I call your name, you will face off in front of me."

Kakashi sat silently to my right with Obito was practically bouncing up to the other side of me. Rin was beside him and Gai was next to her. Thank Whatever higher power is out there that I had not caught his attention that much as of yet.

"And please keep in mind the rules we spoke about yesterday." He said before checking his list. "No intent to kill, Obey me and no Kekei Genkai." He sent me a glare and I pretended to find my feet interesting.

"Nohara Rin v.s Yuhi Kurenai."

I watched the two girls move up front to the circle and face off. Their guard was high as they waited for the okay.

"Start."

They ran at each other and Kurenai punched first. Rin thought she had it dodged, but due to inexperience, it caught her ear. I sighed, watching the baby fight.

I really couldn't wait for then to grow older and actually know how to fight. Then, at least, I can hope that they could give me a run for my money.

The fight ended with Kurenai's win.

Rin had a scratch on her cheek and tears threatened to spill.

"Nice try, Rin-chan." Obito grinned. "Next time you'll bet her!"

She smiled and nodded rubbing her eyes from the tears.

"Hatake Kakashi V.s Yamashiro Aoba"

I caught Kakashi's eyes and bit my lip not to laugh.

Little to say, it took only a few seconds for Kakashi to win.

"WOW!" Everyone exclaimed. Kakashi had literally swept the other boy off his feet. Definitely simple, but impressive to the kiddies.

"Kakashi Hatake's win."

Kakashi walked back towards me and I bit my lip to hold back my laughter. Annoyance showed, clearly expecting the fight to have lasted longer.

"Hyuga Reika and Shiranui Genma"

I sighed, before getting up and slowly making my way to the circle.

"Now Reika, remember what I said about Kekai Genkai?" Umino-sensei asked.

"Yes, Sensei." I responded with an eye roll. Genma put his fists up and grinned, obviously thinking that he had the advantage.

"Go."

I shot forward and dodged his punch only to sneak around him. I secured his chin in my hand before sending his body to the ground with a small tug. I also added a pinched on his nose in good fun. This caused the class to erupt into giggles.

I gave him a small smile in fun. Honestly ... I really liked Genma. He was probably up there in my Naruto crush list along with Kisame, Itachi and Minato.

"Reika Hyuga Win."

He frowned but I offered a hand. He took it and we preformed the seal of reconciliation.

We went back to our spots and I laid down next to Kakashi.

"Tell me when it's over." I said and fell asleep.

This really was really Fucking boring. We need to move up, very soon or I will go crazy.

-.-

Hello Readers,

Once again, I am sorry for the late chapter. I was working like a dog these passed few days and was exhausted, after all I think anyone would be if they did 57 hours in four days.

So here is the next chapter. I was only going to do half but I figured that since I missed last week I owed you another big chapter.

So yes! She has Lady Biwako and Umino Ikkaku as teachers! I thought it would be a nice parallel. Just a small warning, Lady Biwako will not be important in the context of the academy. She will become important later on.

So this week's question is what do you think Reika's skill set will be?

Thank you all for your Views, Follows, Favorites, and Lovely Reviews.

Love you all,

RavenMocker6

 **Dreamy-Girl2016** Wow! Hokage? I don't think she will ever get that far... but who knows, all is possible. To answer your question, she will differently have another skill set, but I will not let tell you what it is. I want you to guess! Another warning, the Academy will go by very quick for Reika and Kakashi, but you will be getting snippets from Rin and Obito. But for sure it is going to be more war oriented. Thanks for the review!

 **Forever in Oblivion** The rivalry between Kakashi and Reika is very subtle. They are more comrades/friends then rivals. they help each other improve with some friendly competition. Yes, Kakashi and Reika are younger then Obito and Rin. Obito is the oldest with his birthday on February 10th. Rin is 9 months younger, born on November 15th. Kakashi is a year younger born on September 15th and Reika is born the same year on November 10th. they will both be graduating at 5 years old. Thanks for the review 3.

 **God Emperor Terra Bornstellar** Yes and No. That is a tough question to answer as it would spoil a lot of the story, and i wont do that... You will have to keep reading to find out! 3 Thanks for the review, can't wait to hear from you again!

 **Dark Rose Charm** I really like the nightmare scene. It gives her a sense of vulnerability, which is needed for a tough character like her. It's no fun reading about a character who is never effected by anything. I'm liking the way you think but there are other people that she could easily be paired with. What do you think? I'm not giving away her pairing yet though. But when its hinted at, it will be obvious. Her Parents have no idea who she really is. All they know is that she is very mature, and thinks like a mini adult. This is why they call her a 'Genius'. Oh I love the way you think... I might actually do that... Thank you for the idea! I can always count on you!

 **Nachell** Sorry for the wait! Here you are and enjoy! Thanks for the Review.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9- Don't Blink.

A month passed and I was starting to get antsy.

I caught another piece of chalk, my head still down in the crook of my arm. I placed it with the others and continued to train my Byakugan.

I watched Umino-sensei's lip twitch in annoyance before concentration and following his movements. I also took in the other movements of quite a few member of the class, checking to see how many people I could keep track of at the same time. Other then Umino-sensei. Obito's fidgeting, Gai's head scratching and young Asuma's nodding head was the blunt of my focus.

Smack.

I put the piece of chalk with the others.

I struggled to add Genma chewing on the end of his pencil but it was hard.

Smack!

"Ow." I cradled my elbow and glared at my teacher. The asshole hit my funny bone.

The class started to laugh and I swallowed my anger.

I didn't understand why Kakashi and I were still here.

We were both bored as hell and getting the best grades possible in all subjects.

I don't understand why we haven't advanced.

"Detention, Hyuga." He snapped. I glared and looked out the window. I wanted out of here. I was sick and tired of being treated like a kid.

-.-

I finished dusting off the cabinets in the back of the classroom and stood up.

I don't think this room has ever been this clean. Even on the first day.

"And I pretty much cleaned the whole fucking place, myself." I muttered. I left the room with my bag on my shoulder and walked towards the office.

"Ikkaku!"

My hand stilled on the door handle and I backed off. Not too much, but not enough so that if someone walked by they would not realize that I was snooping. I sat against the wall and looked down. I released my hair from my pony tail and let it create a wall masking my face.

"You will be in big trouble if you don't report it." I activated my Byakugan and looked through the door. Umino-sensei stood with another teacher, both speaking animatedly.

"I'm not advancing those children. Akiko-san." Umino-sensei said. An uncomfortable feeling settled within my chest. Was he talking about us?

"When the Hokage finds out that you are holding back two protegees, you are going to be in big trouble. We are on the break of war once again, Ikkaku."

"But that the reason why!" My teacher raised his voice. "I can't send those kids out to war! They are barely five years old! Both of them! I'll be honest and say that they can probably graduate within the year. But they will not have had a childhood!" A bang sounded from behind me and the wall vibrated. He had punched it. "I can't do that to them!"

"You will lose your job as a Academy Instructor, Ikkaku." The other instructor stressed. "You might actually be banned from applying for your Jonin exam as well!"

I held in a gasp.

So that's why. I wiped away the tears that were gathering.

"I know." He said his voice shaking. "But these kids are my students, I have to protect them as must as I can."

"You can't so that to them anymore.."

The other teacher placed a a hand on Umino-sensei's shoulder.

"You'll loose everything. It's only a matter of time. One of your students is a girl. Biwako-sama is her teacher. It would be crazy to assume that she hasn't picked up on her genius yet!"

They were silent for a sec.

"It will be worth it."

I quietly got up and padded my way back down the hall. Instead of turning into the classroom. I took the exit and walked out to the courtyard. Reach into one of the wooded stumps, I began to lash out with my palms, just like I did the night I got my seal. Hot white rage poured out of me.

How dare he! He wasn't much older then I was! I was 28 years old, not a child. I could handle whatever was thrown at me. I was good enough and no matter what he does, Kakashi would be graduating this year.

I brought back my hand for another hit and felt something wet hit my forehead.

Blinking back tears I looked down at my small blooded handed and tears blurred my vision. They looked tiny. Like a child's. The waterworks started and I tried to dry them off as fast as could, but they just kept coming. Streaks of blood appear below my eyes, from rubbing with bloody hands.

I was a child. That's how he viewed me because to him that's what I was.

Umino-sensei was a good person. He was trying to protect us. But it will be in vain.

I took a few deep breaths before willing away my tears.

"Reika!" I heard someone call.

I grabbed my sweat soaked kimono sleeve and wiped as much of tears and blood as I could. Once presentable I turned towards the academy to see my teacher coming.

"I was wondering where you went." He growled. I shrugged.

"I'm surprised you didn't shoot a piece of chalk at me." I replied halfheartedly. He glared.

"Very funny."

His eyes took in my face and a flicker of emotion passed. His eyes turned to the stump.

"Really?" He sighed. "You got blood on the stump."

He bent down and grabbed my hands. I looked away and he took in the damage I did to my palms.

"You were outside the office."

It wasn't a question so I didn't answer.

His hands flowed green and the wounds slowly closed. I shivered as a gentle breeze blew past us.

"I'm not saying that you two can't hold yourselves..." He started.

I shook my head.

"I know, Sensei." I said. "Thank you."

Surprisingly, his eyes watered.

"You are such a troublesome student." He growled, before focusing back on my hands.

"Careful there Sensei, you might be catching the Nara Disease."

He smirked.

"I think out of the two of us, you have it the most."

I grinned, the anxiety and anger slowly dissipated from inside me.

He let go of my hands and I marveled how only little scars were left.

"Thank You for protecting us, Sensei." He looked at me in confusion, not quite getting where I was going with this.

"Thank You, very much." My little hands patted his head.

"But we will be okay."

He looked at me wide-eyed.

"You have got to be kidding me, Reika." He growled. "You are four and Kakashi is barely 5! War is brewing and you don't know what that means!"

I looked up at the sky.

"Either way we will." He fell slient. "War effects everyone."

He gritted his teeth.

"I don't need a four year old to tell me that."

"And yet you refuse to let us graduate when you know it is coming. I think it is better is we are send out now, where even though it is a fake peace, we are able to grow a bit before the war then being forced to graduate and being sent out completely unaware."

He froze, staring at me like I had grew another head.

"You really don't talk like a four year old." He growled out.

"Neither does Kakashi." I said my hands tightening beside me. It because I wasn't.

Oops, I hope they don't think I'm some sort of spy.

We fell into a silence, it was tense and any onlooker would be confused if they had seen us.

"I take kunoichi classes, Umino-sensei." I said.

"That's common knowledge." He said confused. "What are you getting at?"

"Biwako-sensei probably has already figured out that I should skip years. And she's probably already told Hokage-sama." I looked to the side. "Its only the matter of time that they find out about Kakashi."

I grabbed my bag from the ground and put it over my shoulder.

"I know, Akiko-sensei told me."

"Then save your efforts for those that need it, Umino-Sensei."

And I then left, leaving him to think.

But it wouldn't be until late that night when I would get home.

-.-

The sun was already setting when I walked in to the clan grounds. My empty bag was over my shoulder, and the immediate feeling that I was being watched weighed down on my shoulders. This hatred towards branch members had only amplified when I got back from staying with Sakumo and Kakashi. I could feel the glare of my clan mates. And it was not just the main family either, if the glares were anything, even the branch families hated each other.

It was messed up.

The glares, the snarls. They looked at me like they were better then me. I tightened my fist. Damn traditional douche bags.

I rounded a corner, passing between two walled yards.

And there was no excuse. I was distracted by Umino-sensei's words and I didn't realize the two people that were talking could have been a risk. I guess I had been lulled into a sense of security in this world and forgot everything I had learn't in my previous life.

And I didn't think it would get that bad.

Thus I didn't have time to react as one of the teenagers threw me into the wall. I hissed in pain but was punched in the gut.

"Well, well, well, the brat is back." They looked like they were still in the teens, but not Genin.

I was slapped across the face.

Definitely Chunin and at my level I couldn't fight them.

"Go die." they growled. It was a blur as they hit me and punched me. I hit the ground over and over again and curled my body into myself. I forced my eyes to stay open as pain laced my body

I also used my limbs as cushions, trying to minimize the damage they did to me. What use did that make as they were 16 year old, going after a four year old.

I really couldn't do much. I raised my elbow high enough and positioned it so that when one of the boy's feet slammed down on it, it was poking the sole of his foot.

Remember stepping on Lego? Not fun.

"Ow! You little bitch." My head stung and he kicked it in. White spread across my vision.

"Fucking impurity. You are a waste of space." One growled. I forced myself to fake being knocked out as they walked away. When they were far enough I peeked out and activated my Byakugan memorizing their face.

I got up slowly after they rounded the corner. The world span. It somewhat reminded me of going into the teacups at fairs and amusing parks.

Using the wall as a support my vision turned red and heat erupted in my core.

They would pay.

Oh will they pay.

They will be subjugated to the worst torture I can imagine without killing them…

But first I needed to fix myself up, and maybe grow up a bit.

-.-

"Reika?"

I ignored my mother's voice and went straight to the bathroom. I locked it and pulled myself up onto the counter with a hiss. Stabilizing myself, I could barely make out my face due to the fogginess in my vision. Nausea followed swiftly. The boys had did a number on me. My lips were cut open and the was a scratch on my cheek, probably from a boot. A bruises were forming on my temple and right eye. I lowered my hands and felt up my ribs, checking for cracks and pain. My fingers pushed on my right side and I hissed. They were definitely bruised.

"Reika?" I heard my father ask from the other side for the door.

"Yes?" I answered.

"What's the matter?" he called.

"Nothing." I hid, don't know why… I mean they were going to see anyway. I undid my kimono. and looked at the bruises that were starting to form on my chest. I was actually afraid to evaluate my limbs. All I knew was they hurt.

"Reika, please open the door." My mother called, her voice serious.

"In a minute." I wet a cloth and scrubbed my face, arms and legs fast. Attempting to get off all the blood

"Now." my father said, all kids know that voice… you know, they one that said that if you didn't you would be in even more trouble then if you waited. I glared at the door before finishing as fast as I could.

I hopped off the counter but my balance was off and I hit my knees instead. My vision turned and bile rose.

I bit my lip and breathed calming myself and holding back the vomit. When I felt my balance come back, I rose and unlocked the door.

Not a second later my father entered and took one look at me.

"What happened?" he asked, like it didn't faze him. Of course not, they had the byakugan. That meant they probably knew the moment I walked in.

My mother knelt beside me and looked into my eyes.

"I got into a fight." I muttered, trying to focus.

"She has a concision." My mother said. I was surprised to hear anger in her voice. And I must say it was terrifying. I could only imagine what it would be like to be an enemy when she is on one of her Anbu missions.

"When?" he asked me. His voice was even and calm.

"At school."

I hissed as my mother pushed not-to gently on the bruise around my eye.

"Do not lie to your father." she told me.

They were both Anbu. They could tell.

"Walking home."

"Who attacked you."

I fell silent. My vision wavering. My mother held me still as she looked over my other wounds. She removed my obi and opened my kimono, looking at my ribs.

"Please tell us, Reika." My mother asked. I looked away refusing to say anything. They will not be caught up in my fights. I don't want them to feel guilty. Guilty for bringing me into this world. And into this family. I don't want them to regret me.

A tear ran down my cheek and my eyes closed to the bright light of the bathroom.

My mother enveloped me in a hug.

"We should get her to the hospital." She told by father. I was comfy on her shoulder, it was soft and her warmth was lulling me to sleep. But it was it's dangerous to go to bed with a concussion.

The darkness in front of my eyes grew more and more comforting as I felt my body being move.

"Don't worry, Reika, we are heading got the hospital now." I heard my father say in my ear. I was transferred into his arms and I faded into the dark, knowing that there was a chance I was going to regret sleeping.

-.-

The next time I opened my eyes, white assaulted them.

The next thing I noticed was the body was curled around me. I looked to the right and noticed a head of silver hair. The sun was coming in from the window and I shut my eyes in discomfort.

"Are you awake?"

I looked over into the eyes of Sakumo. There was no one else in the room.

"Yes." I answered shielding my eyes.

"Good, you gave us a bit of a scare, your mother popped by my house this morning to tell me that you were in the hospital." He smiled and nodded to my best friend. He was totally passed out next to me. I poked his cheek and he muttered but didn't wake up.

"He refused to go to school," I looked back towards his father.

"He said that he wouldn't learn anything anyway, he'd rather be with you." I smiled softly.

I guess I've already made an impact in this world without trying to.

Just wait till I actually start doing shit.

I frowned.

When I can actually come up with a coherent strategy...

"You don't have to frown, Reika-chan." He said.

I was brought back to this world.

"Your father went downstairs to get a cup of coffee and Hokage-sama had to call Satomi in for a quick mission."

I nodded, feeling suddenly more exhausted then before. I looked over to my medical chart on the side of my bed.

"How bad is it?" I asked.

Sakumo reached over and grabbed it.

"You're pretty mature so I'm not going to beat around the bush." He said. He flipped through the pages for a few moments and I waited patiently. I could tell that I had a concussion like I thought, and it still hurt to breath. Bruised ribs.

"Concussion, three bruised ribs, greenhorn fracture in your right arm."

I guess that's why they bandaged my arm and placed it in a sling.

"Various bruises and cuts litter your body. And your left tibia is bruised."

I groaned. Out of everything the concussion and the bruise bone is going to suck the most.

A bruised bone takes just as long as a fracture to heal, but hurts almost twice as much. There was nothing regular doctors could usually do about that.

Sakumo continued.

"You are scheduled to be seen by a medical- ninja sometime tonight." He said.

I nodded but immediately regretted it. My head pounding and my vision clouded again.

Sakumo guided my body down into a vertical position.

"Is it okay for me to sleep?" I asked.

He smiled.

"Yes, don't worry about it." He said. "Get some rest, we'll talk about what happened after."

-.-

"Reika." My eyes twitched and I groaned. My whole body ached.

That's right, I was in the hospital and those blasted Hyuga Chunin jumped me.

"Reika, get up, the medical ninja is here to heal you."

I slowly opened my eyes. It wasn't as bright, and someone had clearly pulled closed the blinds, but my head still span. My fathers hands guided me into a sitting position and I looked around. Kakashi and Sakumo were gone but there was a new lady. She looked average, blond hair, brown eyes.

"Hello Reika-chan." She said coming into my view. "My name is Izumi, I'm going to take away most of the pain now okay?"

My eyebrow twitched at her tone. She was treating me like I was a four year old kid!

Once again the situation crashed down on me and I realized that was because I really was a four year old kid. I scowled and ignored the knowing smile my father had on his face.

"Thank You, Izumi-sensei." I muttered like a good child, trying to at least be polite.

Her hands came close to my head and green flowed around them.

I could immediately feel the difference. I sighed as the pressure and dizziness disappeared from behind my eyes. The nausea also left me. I enjoyed the feeling for the next few minutes before she moved to my arm. She healed the fracture then moved to, thankfully, the bruised bone.

She sighed afterwards and asked me to lie down and raise my left arm. I did so and she heal all three ribs.

The stress the wounds had caused left my body and I felt my body relax. I could see normally now.

"I'm prescribing a week off school and training and some pain killers." She told my father. My eyes were slowly closing again, once again exhausted from the healing.

"I wasn't able to completely heal the ribs and bruised bone so this is a precaution. It's better for the bone to heal naturally anyway. This way it strengthens."

"Thank you very much, Izumi-sensei." I saw the shadow of my father bow and the ninja left the room.

My father bent down and kissed my forehead.

"Rest Reika, we'll talk in the morning."

And against my will, I lost consciousness.

-.-

"Shut up Baka."

"Why don't you shut up teme!"

"Why must you two fight?!"

My mind slowly started to gain its bearings and I almost groaned.

Kakashi, Obito and Gai were to my left, all of them speaking in loud voices. All I wanted was to sleep.

"Did you say something, Gai?" Kakashi asked.

"Why are you so mean?" the future taijutsu master cried.

"Now you're making Gai cry!" Obito growled.

Thankfully my hero came in a familiar form.

"How about all three of you tone it down or get out." I peeked out and saw the little girl sitting to my right, addressing the boys in the room.

"Reika-chan, needs her rest."

I could help the words that came out of my mouth next.

"My savior." I groaned.

"Reika!" Obito launched himself on the hospital bed, Kakashi climbing up beside him a tad bit slower.

"How are you feeling?" Rin asked, I could see tears swelling in her eyes. I winced, and sat up.

"I'm fine, Please do not cry." I told her. She nodded and tried to shake it off.

"You didn't seem fine this morning." Kakashi said.

"Yeah, you had us worries." Obito said. Tears were forming in his eyes as well.

"Not you too." I groaned.

But out of everyone, Gai started first. He threw himself on the bed and I flinched away.

"We were so worried."

"Ugg."

Rin and Obito started to cry too and they threw themselves on me.

I looked at Kakashi and pleaded with him.

But what happened next shocked me the most.

My eyes widened as his eyes also started watered. He turned away quickly.

Chibi Kakashi Fucking Hatake is about to fucking cry.

"Uhh." I looked down at the kids in my lap. It must have been a funny sight, if my father's laughter was anything to go by.

"Alright You three, Reika needs some room the breath." My father said.

"But she could have died!" Obito sobbed.

Holy shit there was snot on the blanket.

"But I didn't and all three of you are getting buggers on me!" I said in disgust.

"That's youthful!" Gai cried. Oh my, don't tell me he's getting attached to me too.

I groaned as Rin clung to my bruised arm.

"Oh sorry." She said sitting back.

My heart hurt as I watched the tears fall from their eyes. And all of them were crying. I could see the arms going on Kakashi, swiping and trying to get a hold of his waterworks.

These were not characters.

They see me.

A drop fell on my hand.

These kids are here to see me.

They care.

More drops fell and I looked at them confused. A body moved over the others and settled at my side. Small arms circles me and silently my best friend held me as tears fell. The other three looked at me shocked but soon enough Obito and Rin moved closer. Rin hugging my waist and Obito grabbing my left hand. Gai didn't stop crying and clung onto Kakashi's other side. The silver-haired boy hid his face in my shoulder, in the process hiding his own tears.

These kids have become precious to me, without me knowing.

In my old life, if someone would have told me that I could have died I have lifted my middle finger and told them to fuck off.

I felt cared about. I felt as if they really cared. That they would stay with me. Never leave me or abandon me or betray me.

So as their friend I had to protect them. I have to trust them, never abandon them, be loyal.

And so we sat there and cried for who knows how long.

I'd give my life for these kids.

"This is so youthful." Gai sniffled.

Yes, even that idiot.

-.-

I went to school that Monday and Umino-sensei didn't take one look at me. The other kids in the room were whispering and staring but I ignored it.

"Oi! Reika." Obito turned around towards me and plopped his math sheets on my desk. "I don't understand."

"That's cause you're an idiot." Kakashi muttered.

"Shut up Baka!"

"I do not comprehend either!" Gai said from between Rin and the Uchiha.

Rin giggled.

"Ask Rin." I muttered burying my face back in my arms.

"But your explanations are straightforward and clear!" Gai said pumping himself up.

I looked up at the sheet in my face.

We were 4 months into our first year and starting to mix all the mathematical equations we learnt together thus far.

"What do you not understand?" I sighed.

"Where you start." I looked surprised at Rin. She grinned sheepishly.

"How do you not understand this?" I asked her.

"You're more direct with your answers."

I grabbed Obito's sheet and the one pencil I bring to class. On top of the sheets I introduced the kids to the Japanese equivalent to "BEDMAS".

Even Kakashi paid attention.

"This the order that you solve an equation. You always do what is in brackets first. Then exponents, but don't worry about those yet." I crossed out the character which corresponded to the 'e'. "Then you do division and multiplication followed by addition and subtraction."

The four kids around me blinked a few times before it set in.

"That makes sense." Rin said before working on her first equation.

"So for this question where I have 3x(5-4) I'm supposed to minus 4 from five then times it by 3?" Obito asked scratching his head.

"Yes."

"So the answer to the question is 3?" Gai asked doing the math on the side of the page.

"Yes." I put my head on the table, having already completed my sheet. Kakashi finished next to me. And reached over me. He grabbed my paper and I let him look over it.

"We have the same questions and answers." He said. I hummed in agreement, but really couldn't give two shits.

"The others don't have the same worksheet as us." He remarked.

"Really?" I asked, my attention perked.

"Oi, stupid, hand over your paper for two seconds."

"You're stupid!" Obito growled.

"You have your own!"

"You can borrow mine." Rin said right after. I looked at her face and noticed a very faint red tint to her cheeks.

So her crush is starting already.

"Thanks, Rin." He said taking it.

The blush darkened.

Maybe I should do something to try to hook Rin and Obito up. I shrugged and looked at the three papers side by side. Kakashi and mine were identical, but Rin's was quite a bit easier. I was actually surprised that I had not noticed it.

The work paper I was given had much larger numbers and instead of using only 3-4 numbers mine was around 6-8 number and they even sneaked in some negatives. We had not covered those yet.

I hadn't been paying attention to the questions. Instead, I just solved them.

I looked over at Sensei and he caught my eye as if he could feel my gaze.

He pointed to Kakashi and I and gestured for us to come to him.

I sighed, before nudging my best friend.

He looked up from comparing them and I nodded to Sensei.

"Thanks Rin." I said before we both got up and made our way through the seats. All the other students were busy talking, about the worksheet or something else I didn't care about.

"I'm guessing you are finished?" he asked. We handed in our sheets and he looked them over.

I watched his eyes as he went from one answer to another.

A sigh fell from his lips and he opened a drawer to his right. He placed the tests in the folder and took out two envelopes.

"You are to give this to whoever is at home." He said. "Do not open them yourself."

"Yes, Sensei" Kakashi said. I nodded my head and followed him back to our seats.

"What did Sensei wish to speak to you about?" Gai asked us.

"Our assignments" I said holding up the envelop to the light.

"Reika, Umino-sensei said not to open it."

I snorted.

"I'm not," I answer tilting it.

Before I could make out any words a piece of chalk slammed into my cheek, right on a healing bruise.

I dropped the letter and it floated into Rin's head.

"Ow." I winced at the pain and held my cheek like it was going to fall off.

"Told you." I could see the grin through Kakashi's mask.

"Shush you." I growled.

"You dropped this," Rin said smiling at our interaction. I grabbed the letter and put it in my bag.

"Reika!" Obito turned around, oblivious to what happened. "Can you look over my work?"

I sighed before grabbing his sheet.

-.-

"Kakashi v.s Reika."

I looked over at my best friend and the girls in our class squealed. Seems like he was getting his own fan club already.

His eyes caught mine and it narrowed in challenge.

This was the first time we were pinned against each other in the context of the class.

We walked up to the circle and took our places.

"Same rules apply."

I placed my palms facing him and he raised his fists.

"Go"

Kakashi made the first move. A kick was aimed to my torso. I pushed it out of the way so his back was towards me. My kick hit the back of his knee and his knees buckled. Rolling to the side he came back at me, sending a flurry of punches, that were actually not that fast. I dodged each before grabbing a hold of his left arm. He span around, making me let go of his arm unless I wanted an elbow in the face.

The spar was quite even, both of us attacking and defending. It also didn't help that we knew the other's techniques quite well. Training together at least three times a week ensured that.

"Enough!" Umino-sensei called. We stopped the second he spoke. My palm a second from his nose and his punch next to my cheek.

We pulled back, a smile on our lips, and preformed the seal of reconciliation.

"Tie."

A puzzled look crossed my best friend's face. And I shrugged.

We walked back over to our little possi and were immediately jumped.

"Wow! You two were amazing!" Gai said exited. "So fluid and youthful!"

I sighed. Don't get me wrong he wasn't a bad kid, just very fucking annoying. And of course he got along great in the group.

"Great job you two." Rin said with a big smile.

Obito bumped my shoulder. I raised my eyebrow in question.

"Will you teach me how to beat his butt?" He whispered.

"In your dreams." Kakashi said from beside me.

"Idiot." Obito growled. "Just wait! One day I'll be Hokage! And then you'll have to see me as an equal!" His grin was wide and white teeth sparkling.

He looked cute. If my body was that of an adult's he would have already been subjugated to the pinching of the cheeks.

"Do it." I found myself saying. Kakashi and Obito looked at me in surprise. "I'd love to see the surprised face Kakashi will have when you beat him." I teased.

"Traitor." My best friend muttered. I grinned. And looked up towards the sky.

If all goes well Obito will get that seat. And this time it will not be in a dream, but in reality.

-.-

Sakumo looked at me in shock as I strolled out behind Kakashi.

"Is this a dream, or do you not have detention today?" He asked. I glared as he started to laugh.

"I'm kidding, kid." He patted my head and we headed out.

Since the beginning of the Academy, Sakumo and my parents often switched pick up days.

"Here, Umino-sensei said to give it to you."

Kakashi and I waited nervously as Sakumo opened the envelope.

His face became serious.

Right then I looked back towards the school. I activated my Byakugan and scanned the windows of our classroom. There I found Umino-sensei in the window, frowning with his arms crossed and leaning against the the window seal watching us.

I gave him a nod and he walked away.

"Ikkaku wants to meet with me on the topic of having you speed ahead tomorrow." Sakumo and scratched his head. I deactivated my kekkai genkei.

"Finally." Kakashi muttered. "I was bored!"

I chuckled holding onto my half empty bag.

"Do you have one too Reika?" He asked me. I nodded.

"It's in my bag."

He folded up the letter and put it in the inside pocket of his Jonin vest.

"Alright, let's bring you home." He said walking off in the direction of my house.

The familiar but uncomfortable weight fell on my shoulders once we walked into the compound.

"Why are they starring at you?" Kakashi whispered nodding to one of the houses.

I shrugged ignoring the stares from behind curtain.

"Who knows, they are probably just a bunch of idiots." I muttered.

"Maybe." Sakumo said from behind me, his eyes softened.

Shrugging Kakashi and I ran up to my doorway and I let myself in.

"Taidaima!" I yelled "Kakashi and Sakumo-san are here too!" I ran towards the kitchen my shoes still on and rushed to the backyard; Kakashi on my heels.

"Someone is excited!" My mother laughed. Kakashi and I place are bags on the patio and he rushed out to stretch. I opened my bag and got out one of few articles I carried with me.

"Well they do have all the reason to be." Sakumo laughed from beside her.

"What happened now?" My father called from the other side of the house. I grabbed the envelope and handed it to my mother, a grin on my face.

I watched her face change from curiosity to surprise as she read.

"Satomi?" My father asked coming up behind her.

"These two are quite the kids." Sakumo said.

My mother passed the note to my father and he read it over.

I pushed off the porch and decided to join Kakashi.

We fell into our usual pattern. Stretch, spar, stretch, and then the topic of our choice.

"We should work on our projections." I suggested. Kakashi nodded and we ran to our bags. We got out our semi-sharpened kunai, probably only as sharp as butter knives, and stood in range of our largest tree.

"Best out of five, loser shares their lunch tomorrow." Kakashi proposed. I grinned.

"I'm in."

Of course I was, food was involved. My father had previously carved in a bull's eye to the tree to help with practice and we used that as reference.

Kakashi went first. The first hit the ring closest to the bull, the second the outer ring the third went wide, hitting the last ring while the other two hit bull.

"17 points." I called. "Not bad."

His eyebrow twitched.

He knows how good I was in projectiles. My first shot hit the ring closest to the bull.

My second hit bull. As did my third. Another hit the closer ring, while the fourth hit a bit too wide, hitting the middle ring.

And with a nice clean shot, I hit bull once again.

"25" he said, I heard the pout in his voice.

"I can't wait for your dad's cooking!" I grinned.

"What's your trick?!" He growled. I shrugged.

"I just throw."

He glared and a grinned back at him. Within a second he tackled me to the ground and we were wrestling. Over the passed year, I got used to my movements again and my previous style had started to bleed out. I honestly tried to stop it but sometimes I couldn't help myself. I slid behind the boy, hooking my legs between his, and playfully catching him in a blood choke. He struggled to get out, before smirking.

The color drained from my face as I quickly tried to change positions. I was a smigit too late as his elbow dig into my inner thigh. Have you ever had that happen to you? If not, let me tell you, it takes years of training not to immediately flinch away from the other person, in the process loosing your grip. It hurts.

"Ow." I hissed. He got out the corners of his mask pinched as if he was grinning. And he probably was. I regret showing him that move.

"Alright you two!" My mother called. "Come and eat."

"Yes, Okaa-san. " I called. I helped Kakashi get up and we ran into the house, stopping only to remove our shoes.

My father helped my mother dish out the food and all five us sat together.

"Itakimasu!" We called before eating. The conversation was light and I took pleasure in the happy moment.

"Kakashi, Reika," My mother started. We stopped trying to steal food from each other's plate and looked up.

"How do you two feel about moving ahead in the academy?"

"It's about time." Kakashi said. "We have been ready for months."

"Reika?" Sakumo asked. I finished my mouthful of food before answering.

"It's better us who are prepared, then anyone else in our class who are not." I answer.

"What do you mean?" My father asked.

"I talked Umino-sensei into admitting that another war is coming." I said, the adults stiffened.

"We are the kids in the class that are the most prepared. So in a sense, moving up into an advanced class will prepare us more for the war to come then staying in the class we are in now and being thrusted into it."

Eyes were on me, even Kakashi's, as I took another bite of my food.

"This information was not supposed to be given out that easy, Reika." Sakumo asked.

"I know, that's why I made Umino-sensei confirm my suspicions."

"How about you leave that to us adults and do what you want to do?" My father asked.

I smiled and pointed to my best friend.

"I want to stick with him." I answered.

"We are going to make the best team." Kakashi grinned.

But little did we know, it wasn't going to be that easy.

-.-

"Good morning, Umino-sensei." Kakashi and I called walking into the room. Rin was already sitting our section of the class along with Gai.

"Not so fast you two." Our teacher said. We turned around.

"What's the matter Umino-sensei?" Kakashi asked. We walked back to his desk.

I gave Kakashi a look and he shrugged.

Sensei reached into his desk and took out two pieces of paper. He gave one to each of us and nodded to the door.

"Your new classroom is down the hall."

My heart dropped but I kept my face neutral.

This was it.

We bowed and thanked him.

I looked over my shoulder towards Rin who was watching us confused. I waved before disappearing behind the wall.

-.-

It took us not even a week to catch up to the year we were put into.

Two weeks later we were placed in a grade above.

Two months later the teacher summoned us again and gave us a new schedule.

Three months after that lead us to graduation.

"Here let me explain it again." I took Obito's pencil and made correction in his grammar.

"Your mixing up your Kanji. You have to..."

"Reika! What are you doing!" Rin asked coming into her classroom.

I looked up from working with Obito and raised an eyebrow.

"Helping Obito why?" I asked.

"Shouldn't you be studying!" She said, her arms flailing.

"Your written exam is in like 15 minutes!" She cried.

I blinked a few time before looking back over at Obito's work.

"Looks better but you need to work on your penmanship." I noted.

"Yes! I'm on my way to becoming Hokage!" He cried.

"Reika!" Rin exclaimed.

"Don't worry Rin." I told her. "It will be a piece of cake."

And it was true. The academy was common sense. The only things I had really needed to study was the propagandize history and my Jutus. But I soon memorized what we needed to know and mastered the academy 3, this was the same for Kakashi as well.

Henge came the easiest to me. The ability to use chakra to surround myself with chakra and applying a change to my shape was second nature as my chakra control had only improved.

Substitution and clone were a bit harder, but it came to me fairly easy as well. Not as fast as Kakashi had it down, but still quite fast. Out of the three, Henge was the only Jutsu that I learnt first.

"Are my eyes deserving me?!"

I looked to the door to see Gai, his eyes wide. "Is Obito-kun really here early for once?!"

"Shut up Gai." Said boy muttered. "I'm not that bad!"

I caught Rin's eye to see her trying to hold back her laughter.

"Stop it." I bit my lip.

A snort left her lips and my shoulders started to shake.

Gai broke first and started to laugh.

Suddenly we couldn't help it any more, both of us bursts out laughing.

"Obito." I gasped, Rin crumpled to the floor and held her stomach she was laughing so hard.

"I don't think I've seen you early somewhere once!"

"Me neither." Rin commented.

"Seriously guys!" He whined. "I was early today!"

I snorted in amusement.

"As if, I had to drag you from your house!" I told him.

Gai and Rin laughed some more before the door opened again.

"The exam is starting soon." Kakashi called. I grinned and got up.

"Good luck you two!" Rin called. I waved and followed my best friend out of the room.

We made our way to the examination room.

"I bet you my lunch tomorrow that I'll get a better grade then you." Kakashi said. I grinned.

"You are on. Let the best student win." We shook hands and he walked in first. With a deep breath, I followed. The invigilator gave me a seat, once again next to the window and I took out my three pencils. Two in case one breaks.

Once all the students were seated we were told to begin.

I lifted the paper and grinned.

"Which two clans came together to form Kohona?"

Easy.

"How long is a Senbon?"

6 inches

"Draw the Elemental Chakra Diagram and explain the position of each elements?

I rolled my eyes and did what was asked.

"Who are the Hokage? Name them and what Titles have been given to them."

These questions were easy.

Kakashi's food is mine.

-.-

Hello,

Here's another long chapter of Karma's a Bitch. I'm actually going to stop making excuses for my tardiness. After all, there always seems to be a reason. Instead, i am going to have to give myself a bit more time to update. I will attempt to get at least one chapter up every two weeks. I started University again and am still working so i have even less time then before.

So for this chapter's question, I am asking more of a general question. This story will become much darker in content and will probably contain more mature themes. Should I change the rating to M right away?

Anyway, thank you all for your Views, Favorites, Follows and Reviews. I always look forward to that email that tells me that someone liked my story.

Love you all,  
RavenMocker6.

 **Dreamy-Girl2016** , I know! I love their interactions as well! Unfortunately, she doesn't get to the ten but she still gets impressive amounts of chalk shot at her! So Genjutsu or Fuuinjutsu, eh? Interesting... And You are very welcome for the chapter. I hope these passed two weeks have not been too bad a wait!

 **Silverlined Phoenix,** I know who she will fan girl over first... But out of those two, it will be Minato for sure! A chibi Kisame? ... I love you... I think i'm sold on the idea!

 **Dark Rose Charm** , I don't know where to even start here! I cringe whenever i see, hear or have to write Gai. He is a great character, but he is way to hyper for me. Izumo and Kotetsu are actually in a younger generation then Kakashi and Reika. at this point they are like 2-3 years old. So they will not come into the story for quite a bit. Pfft! that would be funny. Tsunade's strength! If i do that, it will not happen for a while. her taijutsu style f the Gentle fist. I don't think it will go great together if the purpose of her style is to be gentle. Twin swords are another interesting feature. it would definitely protect her blind spots that's for sure. XD! that would be hilarious, but i don't think Reika is a happy drunk. I think she is more a depressed drunk. But you will see this later on, for sure. Oh and she will definitely kick Jariya in the balls, have no fear... it will happen. Thank you for your Reviews!

 **nacheell** , we will see about Neji... I'm glad you liked it.

 **XBnemesisX** , Yay! I'm glad you like it! I really hope it is going to become a favorite! Trust me, I think half of the people who read this story have already Shipped them together.

 **Adi** , That is exactly my point of view. If you want to protect it, you have to do it to everyone. And if they just want to protect it then why have that punishing factor to it! So she and Kakashi are four years old when they start. I'm really glad you like her! as for Sakumo's suicide... That I will be tackling soon enough. Kenjutsu is a smart guess, Shelby already knows how to use a sword so incorporating it in this life would not be too too hard. I love explosions too, but that can be done just by buying the tags, no? She doesn't have to have Fuuinjutsu to be able to use them.

 **Al** , Reika's fears will ABSOLUTELY follow her in life. That is something she will absolutely have in this life as well, and by this i mean Satomi and Hizashi's love. No matter what happens they will love her.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10- Welcome to the Plot

I stood in front of my mirror and looked at the headband in my hands. There wasn't anything special about it. It was a standard headband. The metal was shinny and the leaf freshly carved into it. It was bolted into the strong black fabric. Running my hands on the material it was somewhat rough.

It felt like I had been looking at the object for an hour. And I honestly wouldn't be surprised if I had. Although it was a simple piece of metal with fabric attached to it, it felt heavy. Heavy in my hand, and heavy on my soul.

This headband symbolized so much. It means the start of my true fight. It means that I will have to step back into the dark that I had lived through in my past life. It means that all the bad that happened in the story line that I knew would begin to happen again if I didn't do anything. These people that had become so precious to me would be hurt and would die, or fall so far into the darkness. But at least I knew what I was getting myself into.

I tested the weight again.

By placing this headband on my self, it will be my dedication to protecting them. And this meant all of them, and many others I didn't know.

I slipped the fabric into my belt loops, refusing to put it on my forehead. If I did, the Main family would assume that I would submit to them by being ashamed and trying to hide the seal on my forehead.

No. I will wear it with pride. They are scared of me, and my possibility. I tied the insignia around my waist tightly.

"Are you ready Reika-chan?" My mother called. I double checked all my weapons and supplies before opening the door.

"Yes Okaa-san."

She looked me over and smiled.

"My little girl is growing up so fast!" She said. I rolled my eyes.

"Do not roll your eyes at me, young lady." She teased as we reached the door. I smiled as we made our way to Kakashi's and Sakumo's house.

We reached the door and knocked twice. Without another second I opened the door, letting ourselves in.

I barely had time to get inside before my hands were all slobbered on.

"Bull!" I growled. He whined and headbutted my small body. He sat next to me and whined again looking up at me. I caught his eyes and tried to ignore him.

"Coming Reika!" Kakashi yelled from upstairs.

I frowned in disgust as my hand became slobbery.

"Watch it, if we are late people might start comparing us to Obito." I called. My mother laughed into her sleeve.

I jumped as something furry touched my hand and looking down was a mistake.

Those big doe brown eyes looked up at me pleading. I think this is what people refer to 'Puppy Eyes'.

I grimaced but before I could help it my hand twitched and began to move. Bull physically relaxed and I yelped as he leaned against me, almost pushing me over, and trying to get me to scratch his ear harder.

"You were early today." Kakashi said coming down the hall to meet me. "And we are not going to be late, so I am not anything like Obito."

Like me, he had forgone his backpack but opted to being fully armed. Just like they taught us in the academy. Never leave home without all your gear.

He was also in the same outfit. Black turtleneck with blue shorts with the shuriken scarf around his neck. His headband was on his small forehead and it looked almost too big for it. I shrugged. He would probably grow into it later. Similarly, mine too seemed way too big.

All of a sudden one of Sakumo's dogs walked into the hallway.

"HEY! That's not fair! Bull is getting all the scratchies!" The dog yelled. I immediately pulled back my arm and fled the house for my life.

"Bye Dad!" Kakashi yelled.

"Have a nice day, both of you!" he called from inside.

From there we made our way to the academy, my mother walking us for the last time.

"Do you think we will be on the same team?" Kakashi asked. I could hear the excitement in his voice.

"I do not know." I told him. I walked beside him, listening to his chatter.

"We would make the best team ever." He said.

"Kakashi-kun, Reika-chan."

We turned to look at my mother, both of us walking backwards.

"There is a very good chance they you two will not be place on the same team, please remember that." She said.

"Why do you think that?" I asked, genuinely curious. After all, Kakashi and I had the highest grades in the graduating class. Speaking of that, Kakashi owes me food.

"Usually they do put the female and male students with the highest grades together, but due to your age, Hokage-sama probably split you up with older students to even up the teams."

"That sucks." He said. His voice was very dull, and quite devoted of emotion.

"Don't pout, Kakashi." I chuckled.

"Am not." He bit.

And my mother was right. That is exactly what the Hokage had thought. He ended up dividing us.

"Team Two, Reika Hyuga, Momo Haruhi, and Damion Kawasu." I looked around at the two other children that I had been placed with.

They glared at each other before their eyes turned to me. Damion sneered, while Momo looked on. They were both average looking, One civilian and the other of some shinobi family. And honestly, from what I saw of them during the exams, Momo was good at illusions and Damion was a ninjutsu fanatic. And by fanatic, I mean he is somewhat good in it while sucking in the other categories. I sighed, this obviously wasn't going to work out.

"Team Eleven, Kakashi Hatake…" I didn't listen to the other names, already realizing that Kakashi was not going to get along with them.

And you know... I was right.

"What?"

Bread dropped from Sakumo's hands and landed back into his plate.

"You both failed your team placement exams?" My father asked. My mother sighed next to me. The sigh took me by surprise because it wasn't one of disappointment…

Sakumo ran his hand across his face.

"They were useless and boring so I beat them." Kakashi said in response.

No, that sigh was a 'why am I surprised' type.

"You should have at least given them a chance before you pulled something like this." Sakumo said. Kakashi shrugged.

"And what is your excuse, Reika?" My father asked.

"Sensei said to fight him, but the two of them ended up turning onto themselves. So I realized that I was not going to pass the second exam so I sat down on a rock and watched them fight. It was like watching toddlers whack each other."

"And you never thought to have tried to stop them? To tell them to stay on track?" he asked.

"If they could not figure it out by themselves then it is too early for them to graduate." I answered before scooping some rice into my mouth.

They adults sighed as one and I looked over at Kakashi. He shrugged and continued to eat.

"So you two realize that you will be placed in the Genin Corps right?" My mother said. We nodded. "This also means that you will only be placed on a team if you are needed and your skills match those of the team."

"They would be crazy not to make use of our abilities." Kakashi answered. "We have too much talent to be left behind."

The adults looked at us, but like usual, no reprimandings were given. We made sense, so they didn't argue.

-.-

"Reika!" Kakashi ran into my house, his eyes shining and his mask pinching around his mouth.

"Yes?" I took a bite of my apple and chewed the fruit.

"My Dad is getting me another Nin-kin!" he said. I don't think I had ever seen this kid as excited as this. He was practically jumping.

"That is great. I'm guessing it is a present for graduating?" I asked him. He nodded.

"Want to come help pick him out?" My apple fell from my hand and hit the table.

A place with many dogs… me? Go there? Are you fucking crazy!

His face fell.

"Oh yeah… I'm sorry, I forgot about you not liking dogs."

Shit, I'm disappointing him now. I looked up to see Sakumo leaning on the door frame, watching me.

"Never mind." Kakashi muttered. Damn it.

"I'll go."

His face lit up again.

"Really?"

Damn it, I'm so going to regret this!

"Yeah." I sighed. "This is my next step to getting over the fear anyway." I picked up my apple again and wiped the apple juice and crumbs from the table.

"Ready to go?" I said hopping off the chair.

His mask pinched again.

"Yes!" I walked outside to see my mother tending to her small garden, she had created off to the side of the yard.

"Okaa-san, i'm going out with Sakumo-san and Kakashi." I called.

"Okay, be safe." She said.

As I walked back to the door, I double checked that I had everything, it would be an embarrassment if I forgot one of my weapons, or equipment.

Sakumo stayed quiet the whole journey all the way to the Inuzuka compound.

"Hello, Tsume." He called as we walked into the front yard. She was outside, chatting with her nin-kin. And this one also looked like a wolf. I swallowed my nerves.

"Oi! Sakumo!" she grinned. I eyed the wolf and moved to the other side of Kakashi.

"The pup smells terrified." The Wolf chuckled.

"Shush Kuromaru." Tsume grinned back. "Let the kid be."

I frowned and resisted the urge to lift my middle finger up at the mutt.

"So what can I do for you today?" she asked. She was a lot younger then in the anime, obviously, and Kuromaru still had his ear and eye. He'll probably loose it in the third war.

"Kakashi just graduated from the academy, so I would like to get him another partner for him to bond with." He said, his hand landed on Kakashi's head.

"Hmmm?" she looked him up and down and raised an eyebrow. "You think your up to it, Kid?"

And of course, Kakashi rose to the bait.

"Is that even a question." He said clearly dumbfounded. "I'm already raising a nin-kin."

Tsume grinned and laughed at his annoyance.

"Alright I believe you." She said, bending down to his level. "But you will have to promise me that you will love this Nin-kin just as much as you love the other."

"Of course." He said smugly.

She grinned before leading the way around the house. Kuromaru hung back until all of us followed Tsume.

I watched him follow us form the corner of my eye. I followed behind, keeping my eyes on the back of Kakashi's head trying not to listen to the part of me telling me to run.

"So I'm guessing you remember the process?" She asked my best friend.

"Yes." He responded.

"Good." She turned forward and opened the gate to a wide open yard. Dog houses were scattered around the field. With dogs of all sizes in and around them. A crowd of them were playing, wrestling and running, chasing and playfully attacking each other. I must say, it was kind of cute.

"Pups." I tensed, almost forgetting about the wolf right behind me. I looked over and saw him grin playfully. I glared before stepping up to be beside Kakashi and Sakumo.

"So many!" Kakashi… squealed. I looked at him surprised and all of a sudden all the puppies turned their heads. A bark sounded and they all came running. Moving out of the way, I watched Kakashi get tackled to the ground and slobbered on.

I looked on in disgust.

My hands started to shake and I looked up not realizing I had taken shelter behind Tsume. She looked over her shoulder at me and was wiping tears from her eyes.

"You don't have to worry about them, Reika-chan." Sakumo said, also laughing. "The worst think they can do is pee on you."

Kakashi squealed as we watched the pups licked any skin they could reach.

Embarrassed, I came out from behind Tsume, trying to act like I wasn't hiding, but everyone knew.

Tsume whistled and all the pups ran off back to playing with each other.

I heard giggling and watched as Kakashi sat up his mask pinching in a smile and wiping the puppy spit off his face.

"You okay there, Kakashi?" Sakumo asked with a smile.

"Yeah," He got up and brushed himself off. "But their breath stinks.

"Alright." Tsume said sizing up the chibi. "Is there one you want to meet?"

I stood next to Sakumo and watched Kakashi and Tsume talk. They roamed around and she introduced him to different puppies. He would crouch down and meet them before moving onto another.

"You didn't have to come, Reika-chan." Sakumo told me. "Kakashi would have gotten over it."

I shrugged.

"I wanted to." Which was somewhat true. Partially because I was curious of the process of adopting a nin-kin, and somewhat because I wanted to see how far I have gone in the year and a bit I have been working on my fear.

Sakumo watched me from the corner of my eye and I ignored his stare.

"So you are scared of mutts?" I glared at the wolf as he huffed and sat beside me.

"So what if I am?" I bit back.

He laughed.

"Then you have serious balls."

"Kuromaru, please she is still a child." Sakumo warned.

"Why do you say that?" I asked him, ignoring Sakumo's attempt to sensor the Wolf.

"Because humans by nature are scaredy cats." He huffed. "Especially pups like you."

A lone puppy galloped towards me and I resisted the urge to step back. The puppy was a little brown pug with large floppy dark brown ears. It was cute, I think.

The pup sat in front of me and whimpered.

Kuromaru growled, trying to scare it off and the pup ran away.

I rolled my eyes.

"Grumpy?" I asked the wolf. He grinned… I think.

A whimper sounded once again at my feet and I looked down. The pup was back.

"Stubborn little one." The wolf growled.

"Get out of here!" he snarled. The pup whimpered again before running behind Sakumo. I watched as it stubbornly sneaked passed the older Hatake and sat next to me again, just out of sight of the wolf.

I laughed at the little one's attempts. It must have only been a month and a half old at this point. Still quite young.

The black eyes stared at me clearly trying to communicate. I sighed, knowing what it wanted.

"Reika?"

I ignored Sakumo's call and bent down to the little puppy. I held out my hand and it took a sniff. Almost immediately it licked my hand and put it's face under it. I grinned and started to scratch the brown ear. The puppy seemed to like it as it howled.

"I would like this one." I looked to see the puppy that Kakashi chose and was surprised to see him pointing to the puppy currently rolling in mud beside me as I scratched his, now that I could see, belly.

"You haven't even met Pakkun yet." Tsume said surprised.

"I know." He said looking down at my hand. "But he is the only one that came near Reika."

The puppy barked and got up. He ran around me and jumped onto my knee like a goat. I flinched as a licked my face but didn't shoo him off.

Tsume grinned and looked over at my best friend.

"I like the way you think kid." She said. "Pakkun!"

The pup looked back, high-fived me in the face with his paw and jumped of to go see Tsume.

"This is Kakashi, Kakashi this is Pakkun."

I watched Kakashi go towards the ground and leave his hand open for Pakkun to sniff. The dog did so and immediately put his paw on the hand.

And that's how the Hatake house hold grew by one.

-.-

"Hatake, Kakashi and Hyuga, Reika."

We stood up from the hallway and walked into the missions office.

Two chunin didn't look up as we stood in front of his desk. He sat at the desk with scrolls all around them in piles writing something down.

"I'm giving you two Roost duty for the next month." He gave us papers to sign. "You will be paid according to a D-rank mission for that amount of time."

Birds? Well it's better then weed pulling. We didn't complain and signed the papers.

"This sucks," Kakashi groaned as we made out way to the village roost. It was located near the edge of the village, but close enough so that if there was an emergency, they could get to the Hokage tower fast.

"That's what happens when we are put in the Genin Corps."

"I think I'll pass the test next time just so that I don't have to do this!" he growled, clearly grumpy.

I shrugged. How bad could it be?

-.-

"I hate this!" I groaned as I one of the birds pecked me in the ear as I was cleaning their cage.

Kakashi snickered at my pain as he swept the floor at the other end of the roost office.

"I thought you said, that it wont be that bad."

I sent him glare at him before I felt wetness roll down my back.

"ARGGG." I screeched as I looked at the bird.

Metal hit the ground and laughter filled the room.

"Shut up!" I growled to my partner. I placed the bird back in the cage and grabbed a nearby rag. I wiped off the bird shit cursing the animal and my friend in my head in every language I knew.

Stultissimus Vaccum!

Maudite Chienne!

Malaka!

Sua Puta!

Cocksucker!

"Oi Mini Hatake!"

Kakashi stopped laughing and turned towards the door.

"Yes, Sir?"

A chunin stood at the door and held a letter.

"This needs to get to the Uchiha Police within 10 minutes." He handed Kakashi the envelope and I could see the tick appear above his brow.

"The station is a thirty minute walk." He mentioned. The chunin smirked.

"Better get running."

With that Kakashi ran down the stairs at full speed.

I suppressed a grin before turning towards the next cage. Sucks to be him.

"It must be boring to be cleaning these cages." The chunin commented. He leaned against the door frame watching me. He had short brown hair with a scar moving from the corner of his right lip to his ear. He was wearing the traditional chunin uniform with the green vest.

"Could be worse." I responded. He smirked, amusement playing in his green eyes.

"Yes, It could."

A chill rolled down my spine at his words. There was something off about him. He stayed there for another ten minutes not speaking to me as I cleaned more of the cage.

It was weird how he was watching me, as if he was calculating my every move.

"I can't believe you are only 5." He said. I shrugged before putting the latest bird back in the cage and jumping off the stool they gave me because of my lack of height.

"I will be turning 6 soon enough." I said before becoming cold. I didn't like him asking so many questions when he has nothing to do with me.

He hummed, cocking his head.

"I'm guessing you have some talent to get out of the academy at that age." He mentioned.

"That's what I have been told." I stuck to the quick and vague answers. He hummed again.

"And why didn't you pass the secret exam?" he asked. My eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

"No offence, sir." My annoyance was clearly showing. "Why would I tell you this if I don't know you."

The atmosphere intensified, almost as if a blizzard was blowing. One of the birds screeched, catching my attention before laughter filled the room.

"This is why I love kids." He wiped obviously fake tears from his eyes. "They are so blunt."

I turned to the next cage to hide my growl.

"My name is Rokuro." he said. "I'm not a stranger now right?"

I glared at him from over my shoulder and returned to my work.

He laughed before walking away. And just in time.

I relaxed my body and the heavy breathing of my Genin partner was heard from the stairs.

And he looked angry.

"What's the matter?" I asked, trying to decipher the problem.

"He gave me an empty note." Kakashi growled. I laughed before kicking the broom over to him. "Catch your breath and then start sweeping." I reminded him. "We have to finish in two hours."

He groaned.

"I hate D-Ranks, I want a higher mission." He growled.

This wasn't the last of them, that's for sure. Our missions continued down these lines.

We would work in the Aviary from the early morning until supper before heading home. We cleaned and ran messages. And often it was Kakashi who ran them. Some were important while others were empty notes, made as jokes to annoy us.

The month came and went and we were sent to other places to help, like picking herbs for the hospital, cutting down trees for wood, or cleaning the library. But most of the time we spent it at the Aviary.

By 'we' I meant Kakashi and I. We rarely took missions apart as we didn't see the reason to. We worked well together and nobody cared. We didn't have a Jonin sensei to guide us, so we were by ourselves working as extra hands.

That chunin, Rokuro, was always there as well. I felt something off about him. Nothing good, like I was some sort of subject to look at or to study.

Time came and went and soon enough it passed Kakashi's birthday and was rounding mine.

Now that we were doing our own missions, our parents had a bit more free time so they took more as well.

A particular long mission of one month took Sakumo and his dogs from Kohona, and during that time Kakashi, Bull and Pakkun stayed at our house on the compound.

And during this time we once again were given mission, 'Clean up bird shit and run messages about absolutely nothing.'

That lead to that day that everything happened.

It started like any other time. Cleaning, running, watching the clouds, washing the birds and oiling their equipment.

I had learnt to wear a towel over my kimono to stop the shit and had actually started to like the birds. They were still pieces of crap that loved to nip me. But they let me touch them now, and they were quite sweet when they wanted to be.

When we were nearing the end of the term Kakashi was once again sent off on a useless run, and told not to come back unless he had a response. He was sent to the cryptology department.

During that time I was confronted, once again.

"This must get boring." The chunin said, sitting at the table watching me work.

"Yes it does, now would you mind leaving me to my work. You say this every time you see me." I growled loosing all patience with him.

"What if I told you, that there was a way to get you into the action, right now." He said, leaning forward. "To make you stronger then ever. To optimize your strength.

I froze, looking over my shoulder at the man. He was wearing a smirk, a fake smirk that much was obvious. Thinking back a lot of his emotions wee forced, almost empty.

"And what would that mean?" I asked a bit confused.

"Kohona is beautiful, a very beautiful village, quite safe and peaceful wouldn't you say?" he asked looking out the window towards the Village below. I placed the bird back in its cage and gave the man my full attention.

"Yes, why?" I asked, not quite getting it.

"What if I told you that there a side to it, that would make you very powerful, that supports the village from the shadows?" he asked. "Would you join?" his head cocked to the side in question.

"Like Anbu?" My eyes narrowed in confusion. "I'm too young for that, Senpai." I told him. I moved to the next cage, shaking my head. He continued to speak.

"If Kohona is the beautiful tree, then there must be roots that suck up the nourishment from the ground to sustain it."

I was lucky that my back was to him or he would have seen the shock that crossed my face.

Root. He was talking about root.

Mater Futatrix!

He wanted me to join the division. Fear rose through me but I knew I had to be smart about this. Danzo knew about me, and was looking into me. I closed my eyes and counted to ten.

"So Anbu is these roots?" I asked him, continuing with cleaning the cage.

"A certain part of Anbu, yes." He said.

I shrugged and focused my chakra to my eyes, I looked out of the building while keeping and eye on the chunin and looked for my teammate. He was no where to be seen.

This was bad.

"I'm too young for it. I don't want to be in Anbu." I said to him. "I'll stay with the d-ranks until I get my own team where I can slowly move up in ranks."

"Some times life doesn't give you a choice. You'll be in it someday why not now?" he was genuinely curious I could tell. My hand twitched next to my kunai holster as I scanned for anything that could help me get away. As if my prayer was answered, A hawk descended from the sky and perched itself into the rooster. I almost ran to it and grabbed the letter. It was coded blue. This meant I had to give it to the Jonin in charge of the messages we get from our southern boarder patrol.

"Please excuse me, I must give this to Kakoi-san." I made my way to the door before his voice stopped me.

"You may run, but we are always around. We will come for you one day. Make sure you think about your answer kid."

I was gone in the next second. Sweat pouring down my back and fear running down my spine.

Root was after me.

Danzo wanted me.

Fuck, I messed up big time.

And that wasn't the end of it. I turned six the week after.

Then afterwards, Sakumo came home. You can probably guess what happened then.

-.-

"Reika-chan!" I looked up from the rock on the road and smiled.

"Hello Rin." I called. She caught up with me and gave me a hug. I froze in shock before she pulled away.

"We miss you so much, Reika!" she said, holding my hands. "The academy is boring without Umino-sensei shooting chalk at you."

"So I was only good for entertainment?" I asked. Her face turned shocked and she started to panic.

"That's not what I meant!"

"I'm joking I know what you wanted to say." I laughed. "How is Obito and Gai? I have not seen them since team placements."

She shrugged and we started to walk back down the road towards the compound.

"Late and Gai." She responded. "But it seems like Gai has taken a liking to taijutsu a little too much. Apparently he has to do 100 push ups for every sparing match he fails."

"That doesn't sound too good." I said.

"well, what can you do?" she said. She hooked her hands behind her back and looked up to the sky.

"We have also started flower arranging in Kunoichi class."

My eye twitched. Bad memories. I'm happy I only had to do a few days before I was transferred out.

"Are you liking it?" I asked. If only to make conversation.

"Yes!" she smiled. "We are learning how to send coded messages through flower arranging right now."

I perked up in interest.

"Really I was never taught that." I said, I guess I skipped it.

"Oh! I can pass you my notes it you want." She said with a smile.

I almost sighed out loud in defeat.

"I guess, if you don't mind." I told her. "it would probably best to know."

She opened up her bags and handed me a small pack of papers.

"Thanks."

We walked to the gate of the Hyuga compound and Rin and I parted with a see you later and a promise for training together.

I honestly did not expect the tense atmosphere that awaited me at home.

"Okaa-san? Otou-san?" I called from the front door. "Kakashi?"

"In the kitchen." My mother called. Her voice was serious and I was immediately on guard.

I walked into the kitchen, barely taking the time to take off my shoes. She was alone, sitting at the table with her tea cup in her hand.

"Where is Otou-san and Kakashi?" I asked. "He was supposed to get back before me." I listened closely and didn't hear the clink of nails on the wood floor I had gotten used to these passed four weeks.

"At the hospital." She said taking a sip from her tea. "I waited for you to tell you."

"Tell me what?" I asked walking up to her.

"Sakumo-kun is in the hospital."

I froze, looking at my mother in disbelief.

No. It couldn't be this early. We were barely graduated, only seven months had passed since we were in the academy.

"What happened?" I asked.

Her eyes moved to the side as she took a deep breath.

"Their mission was a failure." She said.

Dread filled me and my knees began to shake.

"He forced his team to back out of the mission instead of going through with it. If he had, his whole team would have been killed. Him included. In the process of arguing with them, they were discovered and were all injured. All his nin-kin were killed. Therefore, as leader he has to take responsible for it."

"What are the consequences?" I asked, my voice trembling. That household is going to be so empty. Only two humans and two dogs. All the other 5 were dead.

I silently mourned for them. I didn't like them, but I know they were family to Sakumo and Kakashi.

She stayed silent for a few minutes, mauling over the idea.

"Ostracism."

"What does that mean?"

She looked at me in sadness. Probably seeing my age, and how mature I 'had' to become.

"The whole village will blame him for it, even though he saved his team from a suicide mission. So they will distance themselves from him, and shun him and Kakashi."

"Was the mission really that important?" I asked, trying to get any detail I could.

She nodded and took a sip from her cup.

"The mission, although we obviously do not know the details, was to prevent a third shinobi war from happening. It was supposed to help keep the peace between villages."

"So the War is starting." I said, my legs gave out and I collapsed.

"The Sandaime is currently trying to find a loop hole, but it does not seem like we can avoid it."

She emptied her glass without any grace and got up. "we probably have four months maximum before the tension breaks.

I don't know how long I stayed on the floor thinking. But eventually she came to my level and pulled me into a hug.

In that hug, I noticed two things then. First, her limbs were shaking. She was just as terrified as I was. And second?

The strong smell of alcohol invaded my nose. She had not been drinking tea.

"Reika-chan. Things are going to change, very rapidly now. You will be put on a team the next chance you get. And you will be sent off as well to help in the war effort." She said dryly.

"So I will be starting to train you along with your father when we are available from now on."

She clutched me to her chest.

"My little girl, I don't think I would be able to take it if you died." She said. Wet marks ran down both of our cheeks. My mother's tears were in fear, while mine was in disbelief.

I couldn't believe that the war was finally on the horizon.

I couldn't believe that Sakumo was now ostracized.

I couldn't believed that my mother was drinking and crying in my arms.

But what I could believe, is that I was going back to fight, and I will have to dirty my hands once again.

Well, at least I won't be doing it illegally. This time, anyway.

-.-

We got to the hospital to see the doctors whispering to each other.

"Hello, can you tell me which room Hatake, Sakumo is in?" My mother asked. I trailed behind her and looked around.

"Can you believe the White-Fang would betray the village like this?" I heard from my right.

"Yes, he is in room.."

"I know. He should have died."

"Because of him, we have to go to war again!"

"Reika?" I zoned back in and looked up at my mother. Her eyes were filled with sadness. "Come."

I walked after her as we weaved through the hall.

"Did he do this on purpose?"

My eyes stung with angry tears from all the painful words that were said about him by the time we got to his room.

I didn't hear my mother walk, but instead just followed her in. Bull and Pakun were curled up on the floor next to each other, asleep.

Kakashi was in a similar position but in his father's lap. Sakumo was bandaged all over, his normal attire gone and a hospital gown in its place.

I swallowed my nerves and walked to the edge of the bed.

"Reika-chan." He said almost surprised to see me.

"Hi Sakumo-san." I said. His eyes turned sad as he saw that I just stood there. Like I didn't know what I was supposed to do. I looked down at Kakashi's tear streaked face.

Hell. I was a kid. I could do that too…

So I let the dams break. Willingly. I threw myself onto the bed and clung onto my adoptive-uncle, and I cried.

"Shh, its okay Reika." He whispered, wincing when I pressed on a partially healed wound.

"But what is going to happen, Sakumo-oji-chan!" I cried softly, not wanting to wake the small boy in his lap. His hands froze.

"Oji-chan?" he whispered. I ignored him and continued to cry.

"I do not want you to leave." I said. His hands circled me, and hugged me.

"I won't, don't worry about that." I looked up to see that fake-ass smile.

"Promise me!" I emphasized.

"Hush, Reika." My father whispered from beside us. "We don't want to wake up Kakashi."

"Promise me!" I emphasized once again. Sakumo looked into my eyes but stayed silent.

I waited for his answer. And I waited for at least a minute. He had to. He had to promise.

"I promise." He finally gave in. "I won't leave."

My body relaxed and I sat up rubbing my eyes. It comforted me that it wasn't his original plan, but he will try to break that promise.

"But you have to promise me something now." He asked. I cocked my head to the side.

"What is it?" I sniffed.

"No one can ever know that you have any connect with us now."

My body froze and I looked over my shoulder at my parents.

"What?" I shouted.

"Reika." My mother's voice had hardened. It's a "no question's asked" voice. One I should not have challenged.

"NO, never!" I cried. "Kakashi is my best friend! You are my Uncle!"

"Your clan will never allow it." Sakumo-oji-chan said, sadness lacing his voice.

"I don't care!" I emphasized.

"Reika." My head snapped to my father. This was the first time he had ever raised his voice at me.

"We will promise him this."

I opened my mouth to respond.

"No."

I closed my mouth.

"We don't have a choice."

I let another tear fall and crossed my arms. Seemingly giving into him, but not promising.

This wasn't the last of this.

No. I will figure this out.

-.-

The next day, I understood my father's decision. And this came in the form of my grandfather.

"You are no longer allowed to have any contact with Hatake, Sakumo." He emphasis. "If you are caught, you will be punished."

The older man left right after.

The door closed behind him and my father looked away sadly.

I could only imagine what he was feeling. He was forced to abandon his best friend, due to the wishes of his father. A father that didn't care about him.

My mother crossed the room and hugged his back. He looked back at her and gave her a sad smile. I turned away from the frame and went into my room.

I needed to find a way to get to Sakumo and Kakashi. The others might have abandoned them. But I will not.

-.-

Hello peeps!

Here is the latest chapter of Karma's a Bitch! It's more of filler chapter, between another sequence of events. To give a sense of normality to her life before shit begins to hit the fan as you can probably guess from the last line. I have taken into consideration all of your answers to my question and have decided that I will post a vivid warning for the the first dark chapter I write and I will rely on you guys to tell me if I should change to rating. but please note that the first dark chapter will not be as bad as what I have planned for some of the other chapters.

So for some Context for the languages.

 _Stultissimus Vaccum_ is Roman Latin for 'Stupidest Cow'

Maudite Chienne is French for 'Damn Bitch'

Malaka is the Greek equivalent for 'Asshole' or 'Jerk'

Sua Puta is the Portuguese equivalent for 'Bitch'

Mater Futatrix is also Roman Latin for 'Mother's bitch' or it can even be translated as "Mother fucker.'

I have put various languages, due to the idea that Reika is educated among other things. As a University student, it is not uncommon to pick up a few languages in classes over your degree. If I get anything wrong, let me know. I did not use google translate for this, but instead it's coming from my own translations or the translations of my friends.

So this Chapter's question is... Do you think Reika will get caught for interacting with Sakumo and Kakashi?

Thank you all for your views, follows, favorites and views.

Love you all,  
RavenMocker6

 **Dreamy-Girl2016** , i'm going to need all the luck you are willing to give me this semester. I'm taking two language classes... Thank you for your kind words! I really tried to demonstrate how close those two have gotten. They are going to be friends for a long time.

 **Dark Rose Charm** , your comments always make me laugh. Thank you very much. As or crushing? There is obviously going to be some for Minato, Kisame and maybe even a bit for Jiraiya. I've always had a love-hate opinion when it came to the pervert. As for Summons. I'm not even sure I'm going to be giving her one, but i will keep your recommendations in mid, thank you! Oh i can't wait to show you the scene with Kushina in it! You are going to love it!

 **Silverlined Pheonix** , Oh no the sunset background... I think Reika is going to punch him through a wall when that comes around! Oo~ i'm glad you picked up on the stealthy part. She is definitely not going to be a pure heavy-hitter like Kakashi, that I can promise you.

 **KatherynthePyro-bitch** , Awww! Thanks, you are making me blush!

 **XBnemesisX** , Thanks for the advice! I will take it to heart.

 **nacheel** , Thanks, I will try!

 **Guest** , I think I would ruin the story if I got rid if Kakashi and Reika's closeness. Thanks for the review!


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11- Friends Don't Abandon Friends.

It took me a week to find my window of opportunity. I had to take into consideration not only the habits of the compound guard shifts but also the habits of my parents. By then, everyone knew about the Sakumo's mission.

I had 'gone to bed' at nine, and waited until 12:45 to make my move. My parents were dead asleep and the guards to the compound were about to change shifts.

Creaking open my window, I climbed out and landed on the grass. I took off towards the street, activating my Byakugan and located the guards.

Moving quietly, I used the shadows to my advantage and moved around my 'family' members and over the wall. I then ran through the streets, already knowing the way like the back of my hand.

Footsteps made me duck behind a wall. I angled my head so that I could see who was walking around at one in the morning.

Black hair and a black uniform caught my eye and I held my breath.

"It was probably a Stray Cat, Kumai-san." One of the Uchiha police officers called. The footsteps came closer into the alley, near to where I was hiding and I held my breath.

"Hn."

I exhaled when they walked away before continuing my way to the other end of town.

"Fucking Hatake!"

A man threw his empty alcohol bottle at one of the windows and it shattered it.

My heart sank as I took in their house. There was graffiti all over, and their mailbox was broken in half.

Bull appeared in the broken area and started to bark at the man. The drunk swore and staggered away.

"GO DIE!" He yelled before roaming away.

My vision turned red and my hand curled around a piece of rotten apple in the can next to me. I pitched it as hard as I could.

Thunk.

"Who the fuck did that!" The man screeched touching the juice of the rotten fruit in his hair. He was obviously a civilian.

"Serves you right," I muttered. I watched him flail around like an idiot, before walking away swearing up a storm.

I looked around, watching for any signs of movement. Seeing none, I sprinted over to the broken window and looked inside.

Bull whined, wagging his tail.

"Shhh." I put my finger to my lips and motioned to the door.

The dog huffed before making his way over. I followed him. The door unlocked and I curled my hand on the handle.

I opened it slightly before walking inside. I closed the door and relocked it behind me.

Bull whined once again before nodding towards my feet. I narrowed my eyes before looking closely at the ground.

"Trap wires?" I asked the dog, eyeing the Kunai in the walls. The large dog nodded. I maneuvered myself over them and walked into the hall.

It was quiet.

I peeked into the living room first to see no one there. I finally found Sakumo in the kitchen. A bottle of Sake in front of him, unshaven and in his PJ's.

"Sakumo-Oji-chan?"

At the sound of my voice, his head snapped up. His eyes found mine and all I could see was pain and desperation.

"Reika-chan?" he asked confused.

"Good morning," I said hopping up on a chair next to him.

"How are you here?"

"I walked."

"You walked?" he asked in disbelief. "I told you not to associate yourself with us."

He took another shot of sake and poured himself another. He held his head in both of his hands.

"No, you said to make sure no one finds out that I still hang out with you," I said.

It must have looked funny, A grown man drowning his sorrows and trying to lecture a six-year-old.

"You know what I mean!" he growled, glaring at me. Bull appeared at my side and I scratched his head.

"And I chose to ignore you," I admitted.

He groaned again.

"Please tell me your parents know."

I grinned.

"I left them a note."

He drowned his other glass.

"You are not going to leave, are you?" He asked after a few minutes of silence.

Another crash came from the other end of the house and Bull took off barking.

"Nope!" I decided. "I will not abandon Kakashi or you."

A soft smile appeared on his face.

"You have to leave by six, or you will be caught." He said.

I hopped off the chair and made my way up to Kakashi's room.

"5:45" I called back. "Hyuga guard changes at 5:55 am."

-.-

I yawned into my elbow as my mother guided me through my first Hyuga-jutsu.

"Reika." She scolded. "Focus on your training."

"Yes, Sensei," I said before straightening my posture and trying the technique again.

I calmed myself before focusing my chakra in my wrist. My mother gripped it a bit tighter and I called upon my chakra and pushed outwards.

Gentle Fist Art One Blow Body

Her hand was forced open and she skidded back a meter.

"Good, but you are using too much chakra, you only want to send me back a foot so that you are able to use my surprise as an advantage." She walked back to me. "again."

"Yes."

I got back into position and concentrated on giving out a strong but fast burst of chakra out of my wrist.  
Gentle Fist Art One Blow Body

"Better!" she replied. "Again"

Sweat rolled down my face as I worked harder.

Gentle Fist Art One Blow Body

"Again"

Gentle Fist Art One Blow Body

I hunched over and caught my breath, keeping my eye on my mother, but wiping the sweat from my brow.

"Good," She fell into a neutral stance and I knew it was over.

"Tomorrow we work on different areas of the body," she said. "I want you to have mastered this jutsu by Friday."

"Two days?" I turned my head to where my father was sitting on the porch watching us. "That's not a lot of time Satomi."

I turned my head to where my father was sitting on the porch watching us. "That's not a lot of time Satomi."

She shook her head.

"We don't have much time," She said seriously. "She has to be ready to fight a war."

Her hand clamped onto each other and I noticed their slight tremble.

My father exhaled and got up.

"Come, I'm making breakfast." He said. I was quite surprised, not thinking that he could really cook.

I made my way inside and into the shower. I then got dressed in my mission clothes and geared up before meeting my parents at the table for breakfast.

"So, Reika-chan." My mother said, losing the seriousness.

"Yes, Oka-san?" I eat quickly, not having much time before I had to leave.

"Where have you been going at night?" she asked.

I almost choked on my rice and was forced to swallowed a large portion at once. It burned the whole way down.

"Nothing escapes the Byakugan, my daughter." My father smirked. I took a sip of my water and forced the food down my throat.

"I can't sleep, so I go for a walk," I lied.

"Right," my mother smiled. They knew. And they accepted the fact that I couldn't just leave Sakumo and Kakashi.

But this means they are okay with it. Or at least I hope so.

-.-

"Hello." I stared at the not-so-puppy in surprise.

"Isn't he awesome!" Kakashi said smugly. "He's starting to talk and I haven't even had him for a year!"

"It's terrifying," I admitted.

"You're terrifying," He shot back, petting the pug beside him.

I ignored his attempt at insulting me and turned to Bull. The big baby whimpered. His big sad eyes made my stone heart melt.

"Don't worry Bull, you will always be my favorite," I admitted. His tail whipped from side to side in gratitude.

"I love them both," Kakashi said, covering up his mistake. Bull was already sensitive enough that he couldn't speak. "They both have their own strengths!"

"Yes, I'm sure."

Bull got up and licked my face, in the process knocking me over.

"Bull!" I cried as he draped himself ontop me and continued to lick me.

"You four should be sleeping," we heard from the door.

I looked up to see Sakumo. He was slightly hunched over and looked tired if the bags and wrinkles were anything to go by. He looked he had aged twenty years in just under a month.

"Yes, Tou-san," Kakashi immediately got up and started to move around the room getting ready for bed. Bull moved off me but I stayed lying on the floor. My attention was directed towards my adoptive Uncle.

A crash was heard downstairs and he didn't flinch.

"You waste of space!" someone yelled from outside. Another window was probably broken.

He looked down at his hand before taking a gulp of liquid from a gourd-like bottle.

His eyes glossed over and it was like he wasn't seeing anything.

Dread filled me and I knew it wouldn't be much longer.

He pushed off the door and walked away, not even noticing that his shoulder hit the doorframe.

He was going to try to kill himself. It wouldn't be too much longer.

Bull ran up to the light switch and closed it with his nose.

Sighing my six-year-old body slid between Kakashi's blankets but my thoughts never left the older man.

I'll have to keep a close eye on him.

I snuggled into the blankets and settled in for the night with three warm bodies around me. Kakashi to my right, Pakun between us on the pillow, and Bull on the foot of the bed.

"Reika?" I heard. I peeked over at the little white-haired kid next to me.

"Yes?" I whispered back.

"Can I tell you a secret?" he said, the blanket covering the bottom of his already masked face, muffling his voice more.

"If you want to," I answered, trying not to feel exasperated. Please let this not be a kiddy secret. You know, like the ones you tell your friends when you are a kid. Like I pooped the bed yesterday, or this person did this to that person. Or even I have a crush on this…

"I'm scared."

I froze, studying the six-year-old. He held the blankets close to him like he was trying to comfort himself.

"Tou-san is scaring me." he continued. "I don't care about what he did, or how everyone seems to be targeting us."

His eyes became glossy.

"He made sure he stuck to his promise that he would come back. That is all that matters."

Pakun moved his head towards his handler.

"Don't cry, Kakashi." He said, trying to lick up the tears.

"But his body might be here, but his mind is not." He rubbed at his eyes, whipping away tears. "He's always drinking from that bottle and stays up all night. He hasn't been the same since he lost his ninken and that mission."

"Kakashi," I whispered, unsure what to do.

"He looks like a ghost. I'm scared he's going to fly away like one."

I curled myself around him and Pakun. Trying my best to comfort him. Wet marks rolled down my cheeks as well.

This boy was too smart for his own good.

"I will make sure he doesn't fly away," I said more confident than how I felt.

"How can you do that?' he sobbed quietly.

"Because I don't want him to leave either," I admitted. Bull gave a soft whine.

"We have to try," Pakun said, with a definite voice. He touched his paw to my cheek.

"Aren't they soft?"

Kakashi chuckled and cuddled into my arms.

I waited up that night, protecting him. And listening.

Sakumo kept making noise downstairs. And noise meant he was alive. So I would stay awake until the danger passed.

-.-

"Reika!" I was tackled to the ground before I could guess who it was.

"Obito." I groaned as the kid hugged me close.

"Help me with my taijutsu training!" he demanded.

I raised an eyebrow in question.

"Please?" he added as an afterthought.

"Okay?" I said struggling to breathe.

"Yay!" he released me and started to jump up and down.

"Who gave him sugar?" I asked Rin. She covered her mouth with her fist as she laughed.

"None of us." She said. "Gai landed a punch on him yesterday and he really wants to make sure it doesn't happen again."

"Ah!"

I sat on the bench next to my two friends. Almost immediately a waitress appeared by my side and I ordered some food.

"So how is Genin life?" Obito asked settling beside me. I shrugged.

"I've finished my term at the Avery and now I'm currently helping to deliver raw Iron to blacksmiths," I replied. The waitress put down a cup of green tea and some dango beside me and I paid for the goods.

"How long are you going to be doing this?" Rin asked.

"Guess for a month or so," I responded grabbing a stick of the sweet goodness.

"But I mean it must not be too bad," Obito said reaching for a stick of dango on my plate. His eyes met mine and I could see the question in it. "All you have to do is deliver a few scrolls a day."

I smirked, pushing the plate slightly towards him. He grinned and grabbed one before sticking it in his mouth.

"Mmmm, this is so good!" he said, a satisfied look on his face.

Rin and I laughed before I offered her one too. She politely declined before inquiring about the topic as well.

"You think so too? Obito?" she asked. "There are only five blacksmiths in the village."

"I'm delivering more than that," I said. "The war is creeping towards us faster. This means the Hokage is supplying more raw materials than usual to the blacksmiths so that they can begin crafting weapons for us to use in the war."

The two looked at me shooked.

"So there really is going to be a war?" Obito asked. I noticed Rin grip her hands a bit tighter.

"Yes, it is definitely on its way," I answered dryly. "There is no doubt about that."

Silence crossed us and I couldn't help but realize how mature these two were. They were seven and eight with Obito being the oldest out of all of us. But we are discussing war, and we know it is going to affect all of us.

"Reika?" Rin asked after a bit. Her shaky hands curled around her cup of orange juice.

"Yes?" I answered, looking at her in question.

"Is it true?" she asked, lowering her voice so that only Obito and I could hear her. "About Kakashi's father?"

"What happened to the Teme's father?" Obito whispered, in confusion.

I sighed before looking around me. I made sure no one was listening before answering.

"He failed a mission that guaranteed peace in order to save the lives of his team." I watched the steam come from my cup.

"What?!" he shouted.

"SHHHH!" Rin hissed. Obito visibly shrunk and apologized to all the people around us that he disturbed.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked in a lower voice. "What happened to them?"

His face head great sadness, and his eyes were wet with potential tears.

"His father is now hated by the whole village and Kakashi has to put up with it."

"Because he put his team's life before the mission?" Obito said clearly stunned.

I nodded.

"People are idiots!" he growled, crossing his arms and looking at the ground. He clenched his jaw in disgust. "Sakumo-san did the right thing!"

I closed my eyes and nodded my head.

"I think so too," I told him. "But the villages see it as saving a few in exchange for many lives."

Rin hiccuped next to me and began to wipe her tears.

"It's not fair" she cried.

My right hand touched my seal.

"Life is never fair," I told her.

"How bad is it for them?" Obito asked gripping the bench.

"Their house is far beyond repair at this time," I told them. "Yesterday they tried to light it on fire."

Both of them gasped.

"Is everyone okay?" Rin asked.

"Pakun and Bull were able to put it out before it really caught hold," I answered. I drowned my tea.

"We should go visit them now!" Obito said jumping up off the bench.

"I agree," Rin said getting up after him. I shook my head.

"If we are seen with them, we will be targeted as well," I mentioned. Obito gritted his teeth again and his fist shook. "I'm not even allowed to take missions with Kakashi anymore either."

"But they are all alone!" he argued, the tears finally falling. "They shouldn't be alone it's not right."

"Obito's right!" Rin said. "We are Kakashi friends! We should be there for them!"

I nodded.

"I agree, but we can't let anyone else know!" I grinned.

My two friends gave me a confused look.

"We have to sneak in," I whispered.

Obito grinned.

"I like the sound of that!

-.-

"Obito?" Sakumo asked as we snuck in through his window.

"Hi, Sakumo-Jiji!" Obito grinned. I pushed him in, to make room for myself.

"Reika!" he growled. I grinned and jumped in so that Rin could follow.

"Sorry, I did not see you there," I answered with a grin. Obito glared lightly before picking himself off the floor.

Once we were all in the room Sakumo shook his tired head.

"I need a drink." He muttered. He sat on one of the kitchen chairs and poured himself another cup of sake.

"You kids should not be here." He argued, rubbing his temples.

"Oh well," Obito said scratching the back of his head. He grinned widely and Sakumo gave us a sad smile. "Too late."

"You three are such good friends." He waved us along.

"You know where Kakashi's room is," he poured another cup. "He's still up."

"Thanks, Sakumo-san," Rin said and we walked up the stairs.

Obito stormed into the room with a grin before he was attacked by Bull.

"EEEPP!" Obito cried. He put up his hands to try and defend himself against the dog.

"Stop it Bull!" the kid whined as the large dog draped himself on him and proceeded to lick his face. He rubbed himself on the mini Uchiha.

"Hey," Kakashi said clearly surprised. "I was expecting Reika but what are you and the idiot doing here?"

"Help!" Obito cried.

"We want to check on how you were doing," Rin said, I looked behind her noticing her fiddling with her hands.

"Oh," Kakashi responded awkwardly. "Thank you."

"GUYS!" Obito screeched successfully gaining our attention. I shook my head and decided to rescue the kid.

"Bull," I called. The big dog lifted his head and looked over at me.

"Leave him alone will you?" I asked. The dog whined but did as I asked.

"Thanks, Reika!" Obito huffed, catching his breath. I snickered as he took off his goggles to wipe off all the saliva.

"No problem."

Then all of a sudden the mood changed again.

"I challenge you Bakashi!" he said jumping up and pointing at my best friend. I rose an eyebrow in question.

"Bakashi?" I asked. And I really tried. I honestly did. But I failed

I crunched over and started to laugh.

"It's not funny, Reika!" Kakashi growled.

"No, your right," I admitted wiping away tears. "It's hilarious."

Rin laughed as well from behind her hand.

"You guys suck," Kakashi growled. We all settled down on his bed with Bull in the center, trying to get as much petting as possible.

"No, we are your friends," Rin said with a smile.

"Who would be friends with him?" Obito said pouting that his challenge was ignored.

"Awww Obito is shy." I teased. Red painted his cheeks and he cried out in protest.

"Yeah right!"

"What's all this noise?" I looked over at the door to see the newest addition to the family walking in.

"Hi Pakun," I said, still a bit freaked out about the whole talking dog thing.

"Hello, Reika." He said sitting down beside me.

"WHAT THE HELL!" Obito cried. "That dog is talking!"

"Yes, I do speak." The brown pug said looking proud. "I am a Ninkin."

"Oh! I have read a book on Nin-kin!" Rin exclaimed looking intently at the talking abomination. "Nice to meet you, I'm Rin!"

"This is Pakun, My dad got him for me when I graduated." Kakashi introduced.

"Hello!" Obito said trying to get everyone's attention. "What the hell is everyone acting like it is the most natural thing in the world! The Dog Is Talking!"

"It took me a bit to get used to it too," I told the Uchiha. He blinked before rubbing his head in distress.

"I don't believe this!"

"You should, I'm right in front of you." Pakun walked over to where Obito was freaking out and held out a paw.

"I have soft paws too, want to feel?"

The loud response that I thought Pakun's answer would result in, never came.

"I think you broke him Pakun," Rin said. I couldn't help the smile that graced my face as I watched Rin reach over Obito's unconscious form to touch his paws.

"Oh wow!" she exclaimed. "They are soft!"

I love these kids.

-.-

"Seventy-eight," I answered.

"Very good." My mother answered.

We continued our forest hike to the top of the Hokage monument.

"How many moles are within 500 meters of us." She asked.

My eyes moved from left to right as I looked through the ground."

"Twelve."

"Good job." She praised.

We reached the top of the Hokage Monument and looked over the village. It was midday so the sun illuminated the buildings and the people going about their business.

"I'm content with your Training at the moment so we are going to be moving on to the next level." She said. She faced the city and motioned me forward.

I took my place beside her before looking up in question.

"What are we doing here?" I asked.

"I've taught you to speed count so that if you ever have to report enemy numbers, you will have the exact number." She pulled out a sheet of paper from her pocket and handed it to me.

"What's this?" I asked.

"Your next task." She motioned for me to open it.

I opened it to see a simple drawing. A simple fan looked back at me.

"What do I do with this?" I asked her. She fought a smile and motioned towards the village.

"You have until the end of today to find the exact matching symbol."

"You must be joking?!"

My Mother laughed.

"No, I'm not." She answered. "You have to stay here and use your Kekai Genkai to find it."

I groaned before taking a second look at the symbol.

"This is what I am going to be doing for the next few weeks isn't it?" I asked her.

"Good luck!" she said before disappearing.

I groaned before sitting down. This was going to take a while.

Combing the village thoroughly took a good portion of the afternoon. My stomach growled in hunger and I resisted the urge to hit something.

"Find the fan she said. It will be good training she said." I mimicked in anger. "This is fucking hell."

I turned off my ability and sudden throbbing assaulted my head. Overworking a dojutsu was not fun. The headache you got after was worse than a concussion. I pressed my fingers to my temple and closed my eyes.

"What am I missing." I groaned out loud. "There must be a hint somewhere."

My eyes snapped back open and I got out the paper. I was an idiot. Fan usual equates to Uchiha.

My doujutsu activated once again and I scanned the village for the Uchiha Compound.

Although the symbol could be found anywhere in the village, there was only one place my mother could have put the matching symbol and have it evade me.

And that is given to the one Uchiha that interacts with us.

Obito.

I found the kid in a small clearing within the Uchiha clan's training grounds.

He was pushing his limit, training with weights on his limbs. He descended into a crawl position then completed his push up over and over again. On his back was a small paper with the same outline on it.

I sighed. This was obviously my mother's idea of a joke.

I jumped from the top of the mountain before rebounding onto the head of the second Hokage. I descended quite rapidly and made my way to the wayward Uchiha.

"I will become Hokage!" he growled. I leaned against a tree and watched him.

He obviously had a good work ethic. He was hard working but he obviously took too much on himself.

He collapsed onto the ground with a groan. His breath came in pants and he gripped the dirt.

"Kuso!" he cursed.

"You know you are only eight," I said without really thinking. "You should not be swearing."

He lifted his head and his eyes focused on me.

"Reika?" he asked.

"No, I'm the boogeyman."

"The what?"

"Nevermind." I shook my head and bend down in front of him. I removed the sheet of paper and tucked it in my leg pouch.

"What was that?" he asked.

"A test my mom gave me," I told him. I undid the fastening on the weights on his body and tossed them to the side. He collapsed in the dirt with a groan.

"Hey, I'm using that," Obito argued weakly

"We are too young to use weights," I replied. "Weight training should come after you are 16."

"What? Why?"

"They stop you from growing."

"Really?" he shouted pulling himself up onto his knees. I rolled my eyes before putting the weights to the side.

"Yes, Has no one ever told you this?" I said. It was a rhetorical question, I swear.

"No, not really. I live with my grandmother and she is a civilian." He said.

I immediately felt bad.

"Sorry Obito. I did not think." I admitted. He waved me off.

"It's fine Reika! I didn't know my parents anyway." He said grinning. But that grin was forced I could tell by the slight twitching of his left cheek.

I internally sighed before sitting down beside him. Silence surrounded us as he began to do push-ups once again. This kid was trying hard. By the look of him, the tremble in his limbs and the sweat pouring off him, he had been here for a long while.

"Were you serious about wanted to train with me?" I asked him without registering my words. he stopped all movements and blinked up at me.

A grin suddenly erupted on his face and he jumped up to his feet.

"Of Course!" he cried. He fist pumped the air around him with a woot. His excitement stopped suddenly as his legs gave out and he collapsed onto the ground.

What have I gotten myself into now…

"Then we are going to start with the basics," I told him. I reached out and grabbed a stick before

Creating a triangle.

If I knew him the way I think I know him, then this is a big piece of the training he's missing.

He crawled closer and paid attention to my lecture.

"This is the TOB, or Triangle of Balance," I explained. I motioned to the top and wrote down the first part.

"At the top of the triangle is power to the bottom right is Speed. These two aspects are the most common goals of those who change. They want to be able to hit hard and they want to be fast as well. Right?"

Obito nodded.

But what people don't always understand is that to have power, you must have to have speed and to have speed you pretty much have to have power." I told him. He nodded in comprehension before pointing to the bottom left of the triangle.

"What about this?" he asked. "What is this one?"

I grinned.

"Flexibility," I responded writing the Kanji in the corner.

"Huh?" his hand scratched his head in confusion. "What does flexibility have to do with getting power and speed. It's for girls."

I responded with a glare and a tug to his ear.

"You ever say that again and I will hit you," I warned.

"Yes, Reika!" he winced flailing his arms in pain. I let go and he pouted before rubbing the red cartridge. It was kind of cute.

"Flexibility is the secret to getting Power and Speed." I finally responded.

"I don't understand Reika. How is stretching making me faster and more powerful?"

I got up and went to the nearest tree.

"Flexibility can help in multiple ways. The first and most obvious way is to prevent getting hurt." My hands closed around the branch. "This tree is not flexible what so ever." I grabbed the branch and broke it in two.

Obito moved his head to the side trying to understand me.

"What I mean is that the more flexible you are, you have more of an opportunity to creating an opening. For instance, if someone were to do an armbar to me, my flexibility buys me time in a fight to get out of it because my opponent has to put more energy into hurting me. This means that I will possibly come out of this encounter unharmed then another person who is as solid as that branch. Their joints will just snap and their arm will break."

"Oh! So it is more for defensive purposes?" he asked. He shook my head.

"Remember what I said about flexibility being the key to power and speed?" he nodded his head. "Good, because flexibility can help in offensive purposes too. For instance, if I have more flexibility in my shoulders and ankles this gives me more reach when I punch because I can move my body further forward, giving my hit more torsion. Thus my hit becomes more powerful. Same thing could be said about speed. With flexibility comes ease in your movements, this means that your movements become faster."

"Oh! I understand!" he exclaimed. "So my next step is to be more flexible so I can become more powerful and faster?"

I smiled. "Exactly."

"YES! Then let's start!" he cried jumping up with renewed energy.

I laughed along with him.

"So here is what you are going to do…."

Somewhere in the village, I am sure both Rin and Kakashi heard his screams.

-.-

Hello everyone,  
Here is the next chapter. Once again please forgive me for the wait. University. That is all I will say.  
In this chapter, I really wanted to highlight the Obito/Reika friendship. I just love Obito's character.  
So thanks for your responses to my questions. Its a pleasure reading them. This week's question is a big one. Can someone tell me...

Will Sakumo Live? Or Die?

Thank you all for your views, favorites, follows and reviews. I love hearing from you.  
Oh, and I can't help it... YOU HAVE ALL GIVEN ME OVER A HUNDRED FOLLOWS AND FIFTY REVIEWS!

Love you all 3.  
RavenMocker6

 **Dark Rose Charm** I think the reason Kakashi and Reika seem to stick together so well, is that they recognize that they are both 'genius.'' So they are the only people their age that can understand each other. Yes, Kisame. I can't wait to write that. Oh and hint hint, Kushina might be coming up in a few chapters. The Danzo issue, I will not lie, is going to be a big issue. And it will NOT be solved very easily. As for your comment. Trust me, they catch my interest alright. What makes me laugh the most is when I can't see the whole message in my emails, so I have to log onto Fanfiction to read the rest. Looking forward to what you think of next.

 **XBnemesisX** Thanks for answering the question. Honestly, my mind is always made up when I ask the questions. I'm just genuinely curious on what you all think will happen next. But my ideas are always subject to change, and sometimes you all give me great ideas too. Keep it up, I love hearing from you.

 **KathyrnthePyro-bitch** I'm glad you have picked up on that so far. Reika still has the mindset of a brawler than a ninja. She is still converting, give her time and an actual team with actual training and she will pick it up. Put her with Minato? Why would I do that? *cough cough* But if I do, the clan really will have their hands tied.

 **WhiteFang001** That's a good idea. Having an adult help her. But then again who could she ask? The only adults she has in contact with is Sakumo and her parents(who were warned as well). Maybe Umino-sensei? Biwako? but she no longer has contact with them... BUt its a great point. Thanks for sharing. And I'm not telling. You'll find out in the next chapter if I kill him or not.

 **nacheel** Aww, thanks. Good point but Kakashi and her have been separated in the Genin Corps. Her clan banned her from all contact, even missions. Ahhh~ Minato... Kushina... all of you just can't wait for them to come. When they do, trust me it is going to be worth it. Thanks for the encouragement. It means a lot.

 **Pika5490** Thanks for correcting my mistake. It was within the first line too! That's so embarrassing. You teared up? Aww, I didn't think it was that emotional. I'm not sure if I should apologize for that. I was writing that chapter when I was angry so I thought it would come out dry and angry than anything else. As for muscle memory. I do get your point... but I wanted it to come off as if she still felt like an alien in her body. Very awkward and unfamiliar. That would cancel out any automatic responces that her body would actually have. The more the story goes on, the more comfortable she will be in her body and the more her previous style will bleed out. Thanks for the encouragement. Can't wait to hear from you some more.


	12. Chapter 12- Trigger Warnings

**LOOSELY RATED-M**  
 **Warning: Depression. Mentions of/Attempts to/ and Succeeded Suicide.  
I don't think I need to put it due to this being Naruto, but Graphic Murder.**

Chapter 12- Suicide

"So where has the Hokage assigned you for your next term?" My mother asked as we walked the main street of the village. I carried a plastic bag with milk and eggs in one hand and in the other was a letter from our village leader.

"He wants me to deliver raw goods to the blacksmiths again," I answered. Using one hand and my chest, I folded the letter back up and placed it in my weapons pouch.

"War is coming closer then." She said, worried. I nodded sighing.

"I'll be fine Oka-san." I smiled, attempting to relieve her of her worrying.

"Get out of here! We don't serve traitors here!"

My attention was pulled to a store just a few shops away.

My blood ran cold.

Sakumo looked down at his money that the storekeeper threw onto the ground. No expression crossed his face. He was looking at the money numb as could be. His eyes were shrouded in black. So very dark. I imagined all the late nights, drinking and feeling guilty and sorrow.

Behind him Kakashi stood, his hands clenched. He was also looking at the ground, his whole body shaking in anger and shame.

"I would only like to buy some food for my son and I." I read on Sakumo's lips. My heart dropped.

"You don't deserve to eat, you waste of space!" he growled.

My eyes zoomed in on the interaction, almost like I was getting closer.

 _"Shelby." She grinned, pulling her turtleneck up a bit, covering the hand marks around her neck. "I'm fine don't worry about me."_

I swallowed the lump in my throat as the memories continued to rise.

 _"Did she hit you again?" I asked her noticing the hand that immediately went to her ribs._

 _"Don't worry about me, concentrate on school and your training!"_

"Actually, do you know what you should do?" the shopkeeper hissed. "It will be a favor to the whole world."

 _"I can't take it, Shelby!" I held her in my arms, holding her close as her wrists bled from the wounds both her mother had made, and the wounds that she herself had inflicted. "Between you selling your self to a fighting ring for me, and my mother beating me like this. I just can't."_

 _"Only a bit longer,... Only a bit longer." I whispered. "Don't worry about my situation, this is my own choice, and it's not just for you. I want out of my house as well. Wait a bit longer, and we will be free. I get paid for my next fight and will have the money for a full year rent."_

 _"Go die!"_

"Son Of A Bitch!" I cried rushing towards the shop owner. "I'll kill you myself!" I cried. Arms held me in place, pulling me away from the crowd. I fought the person to try to get to the shopkeeper. I pulled and pulled, and the hand got tighter and tighter. The crowd turned their attention to me and started to whisper but I didn't give a shit.

"How dare you say that!" I cried. "He saved the lives of his whole team! That's more…"

A hand closed over my mouth and my mother dragged me away from the scene.

The last thing I saw was Sakumo smile sadly and pick up his money. He looked over at Kakashi, then they disappeared.

-.-

"Reika!" My mother exclaimed.

I looked to the side, seething with anger.

"What you just did was very dangerous." She said. I refused to look at her and clenched my hands. My whole body was vibrating and I wanted to rush back there and beat the man bloody. And I would have if my mother did not still have her hand wrapped around my upper arm.

You don't say that.

Tears of anger ran down my cheeks. And Sakumo doesn't deserve it. But maybe that is my own thinking because I care about him? That violence and fighting for survival is something are not strange to me.

"I do not care Oka-san!" I hissed. "It isn't right! He saved them! Why do they hate them!"

"Reika!"

"NO!" I cried. "It's not right! They told him to die! To Die!"

Her eyes softened and she pulled me into her arms.

"Stop." I croaked trying to push her away. My small arms couldn't move her and the tears kept coming. So I just gave in.

"They told him to die, Oka-san." My arms rounded itself around her body and I finally stopped fighting her. I gripped her kimono and held on tight. "And I know he's thinking of it. He has to be."

"Shh." She ushed. "Sakumo-kun is strong my daughter, he will get through this. He would never abandon Kakashi-kun."

Bullshit.

I clung to her and concentrated on my breathing. I had to force myself to calm down. Or else I would do something I would regret.

"Hyuga-san." I raised my head and looked at the newly arrived Anbu.

"Anbu-san," my mother responded. She pulled away from me and stepped forward.

"Hokage-sama needs to see you." He responded and disappeared. She sighed and turned back to me.

"Are you going to be okay?" She asked me, letting her hand rest on my head.

"Yes, Oka-san." I told her. "I promise."

She gave me a sad smile.

"Come, I'll walk you home before I go." She said motioning towards the exit of the forest.

I shook my head.

"I'm going to stay out here to train a bit," I said. My mother looked at me worried. "And you should not keep the Hokage waiting, Oka-san."

She smiled before planting a kiss on my forehead.

"Then I won't. Have a good training session." She flickered off right after and I was left alone.

I let out a sigh before stretching my arms up towards the sky.

Any day now. I remember thinking. Sakumo will attempt to kill himself any day now.

I began my routine work out. A run, push-ups, and sit-ups were done before I sat on the ground and started my stretching. With my legs in front of me, I ignored all the anxiety that attempted to cloud my mind and I reached out to my feet. Gripping my ankles I reached towards the direction of the tree directly in front of me. My hands passed my toes, as did half of my forearm. As I stated with Obito, flexibility is an important factor in increasing strength and speed. It also calms the person and….

I screeched, clutching my head between my hands. I forced one of my hands away to check for blood but there was nothing. I curled in a ball and gritted my teeth. This pain was familiar. I forced myself to look up to see that older Hyuga man standing close to me. I had not sensed him what so ever. When did he arrive?

The reason behind the pain clinked as I stared upon his bare forehead.

"You have brought disgrace to the clan." I read from his lips. My ears were ringing too much to hear him.

"I warned my Hizashi and Satomi to keep you in check." I attempted to focus on his lips, cursing him in my head. "But they failed to so let this be your punishment."

"Asshole!" I croaked. The last thing I saw was his face twitch, my own puke, and then the ground.

-.-

It is hard to compare the feeling to anything else. It was probably as bad as getting socked in the head by a 330 Pound man. It boarded how you would feel if you had a concussion that lasted 4 months.

All and all, it hurt like a bitch.

"I should have never left her there Hizashi," Oka-san whispered. I opened my eyes and looked around my room. It was dark so the light did not hurt my eyes.

"You didn't know my father was going to target her," Otou-san said in controlled anger. Their voices came from the other side of the room.

I slowly sat up, clutching my forehead in pain. This was definitely a migraine. I massaged my temples, trying to relive the pain.

"The thought never crossed my mind, Hiza." She whispered. Guilt settled in my gut. My actions got me punished, but it is affecting the people who care which made me feel bad. I sighed. I was so used to no one caring that it was odd having to be careful with what I do now. It was hard.

My hand dropped to the pillow and heard a crinkle. I looked down and noticed a paper on my pillow. I swung my legs off the side of my bed and grabbed the note. It took me few moments but I was able to read it.

"Thank you for everything."

Panic settled in.

 _I looked down onto my phone and noticed a text._  
 _Thank you, Shelby._  
 _For? I texted back._  
 _For everything, you have done for me._

I don't know how. I really don't. It was probably the adrenaline. But I was out my window into the storm that was beginning to brew before the note could hit the floor. I would later find it under my bed.

I hide my presence and slipped into a hole in the compound wall as soon as the guard rounded the corner. Rain wet the ground so when I slide in, my clothes became muddy. But I didn't care.

Before I knew it, I was slipping into Sakumo's house, not even noticing when I cut myself on the glass on the broken window. Bull wasn't waiting for me like usual. Nor was Pakun around. I swallowed my nerves and walked through the house. It was quiet, too quiet.

I slipped passed the kitchen, seeing it clean. The living room door was closed. My pulse picked up. I slipped upstairs and checked the bedrooms. Kakashi's door was closed. I left that alone and check out Sakumo's room. It was very clean, with bags all on his bed.

Today. He chose today. Thunder sounded outside.

I followed the drops of my own blood that fell from my wounded arm. It brought me back passed down the hallway, passed Kakashi's room and down the stairs. I stopped in front of the Living room.

My hand stilled on the door. I was shaking. My hand wouldn't keep still, the muscles were twitching in my legs. I was terrified of what I would find in there.

 _"Good riddance, she was a waste of space anyway." Her mother growled in front of her dead body. She was hanging from the ceiling, an extension cord around her neck, and a letter addressed to me in her pocket. "and I don't know who is going to pay her funeral, but I'm not."_

That had been the first and second time I had killed someone.

I gritted my teeth and slide open the door a bit. Just enough to see.  
The room was dark, no lights were on, It was pitch black. The thump of my heart pounded in my head and I searched for the man I called my uncle. Lightning lit up the room and his body.

My heart picked up ten times more.

Sakumo was kneeling in the center of the room. And in his hand was a kunai. He was toying with it. Turning it over, playing with it. Obviously lost in thought. Dangerous thoughts.

I took a deep breath and opened the door completely. I walked in and closed the door.

He only noticed someone was in the room when the door hit the wall.

"Reika?" He asked surprised. Lighting lit up the room again and he attempted to hide the weapon. "What are you doing here? You should be sleeping."

His voice was panicky as he moved over to the coffee table to light the candle that slanted to the right on a plate.

"It's Tuesday, I always come over on Tuesdays," I said. I couldn't tell if my voice was as shaky as my limps. I couldn't even decipher my feelings at the moment. Was I angry? Sad? Scared? Sympathetic?

It was uncharacteristic of me. My feelings are almost never muddled. I know what I feel, and I automatically react to it. Anger. It's always anger.

"Oh, that is true." He said. His smile didn't reach his eyes. "You can go right up, Kakashi is already sleeping." He hadn't moved from his knees.

"I'm good here," I told him and slide down the door. His eyes widened.

"Kakashi should be waiting for you, you should go, Reika." He said. I shook my head.

"You just said he's sleeping," I told him.

"He probably woke up."

"Liar," I said calling out his bullshit. "You drugged him, Bull, and Pakun."

The shock passed through his face.

"I would nev.."

"Liar." My whole body went cold. "You were about to kill yourself."

His whole body froze but he stayed silent.

"I'm staying here," I told him, crossing my arms over my chest. "I'm not stupid."

Once again no answer. His hair covered his eyes, and the flickering of the candle only created a tenser atmosphere.

"But, I won't stop you," I told him. Shocked, he studied me. "Even if you promised not to leave us."

"You won't?" he asked, he pulled the kunai from beside him and laid it in front of him. His eyes looked at it in longing. It was terrifying.

I shook my head. "But I'm not leaving. If you are going to kill yourself, I will watch you."

"I'm not leaving."

A tear rolled down his left cheek.

"Leave, Reika." He told me. "You don't need to see this."

I shook my head.

"I'm not going anywhere."

He chuckled.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked.

"That should be my line!" I growled. He looked back down at the kunai with a hardened expression.

Minutes passed without either of us speaking, just the sound of thunder rolling outside the house.

"Are you going to do it?" I asked once again. His black defeated eyes settled on me. "Do you want a six-year-old to see you die?"

His eye twitched.

"Why are you making this so difficult?" He growled back, anger slowly vibrating from him. "I had made up my mind and was about to go through with it. All this was about to be over. But you showed up. You're a child. You can't understand."

"I don't think you should die."

He snorted in disbelief. "But you should. And you probably do deep down."

"What do you mean?" I narrowed my eyes, once again ignoring the pain that was starting to resurface in my head. Adrenaline only tames the pain for a short while.

"I heard your parents talking when I dropped off the note." He said, gripping his pant leg. "You were punished by your grandfather for defending me."

"He is not my grandfather." I hissed. "He is a monster."

Ah. There is the anger.

"It doesn't matter what he is, I caused you harm when you have been nothing but loyal." He said.

"It was me who hurt you, it was my mistake that caused all of this. I'm a traitor and should die."

"You did nothing wrong, Oji-chan." I shouted. "Absolutely nothing."

"That is not true." He snapped. "Because of my actions the village has to go to war once again. I save a few lives only to kill hundreds more! Who knows who could die next! Kakashi? You?"

"So what if you did!" I snapped back. "You are being punished by being ostracised right now! And you want to take it further and kill yourself!"

I let out a soft laugh. I was not acting as any six-year-old would I know that but this is too important to act like a kid for. I needed all the energy and maturity I could get. Saving Sakumo means saving Kakashi, and thus, the secret to saving Obito and all the others.

"You coward!" I growled. His eyes widened in shock and hurt. "If you feel you did something wrong face up to it and Fix It! Or at least if you are going to die, die during battle!"

"Rei.."

I didn't let him continue.

"By killing yourself you are not punishing yourself. Once you're dead. You're dead, we are the ones that have to deal with the aftermath!" I was quick and dry with my words. "But out of all of us, Kakashi will be hit the hardest! You are his hero, if you kill yourself, you are proving the people who mistreat you right. You will prove that you are a traitor. And he will be scarred for life. He will be known as the son of a coward and traitor!"

Sakumo scoffed. My words went six feet over his head.

"Sakumo!" I growled. "He will grow up thinking that a mission is more important than the lives of his teammates."

He looked back down at the kunai. Probably debating of killing himself just to stop listening to me.

"He has people like you, Obito, and Rin to save him," Sakumo whispered.

"And if we are his teammates." I thought about Obito being crushed under the boulders. "Will he chose his teammates or the mission?"

Sakumo gripped his pant legs and I saw tears stream down his cheeks and dripping onto the back of his hands.

"Live, atone, fight to get back your reputation." I calmed myself and kept my voice clear and steady. He needed to hear this.

"And show us what a Real Shinobi is like. Be an example for Us to Live by. Let Us be Proud of you." I raised myself off the ground and turned towards the door.

I heard a soft clank behind me and opened the door.

"Think about what I said, Oji-chan." I told him and stepped out. "I will be with Kakashi all night and into the morning."

"We love you."

I closed the door. Not even a second later there was a cry of desperation and another thump.

I didn't think about what that could mean and walked up to the second floor. I opened Kakashi's door and walked in.

The white-haired boy was covered and sleeping soundly. Bull was on the foot of the bed with Pakun between Kakashi and what has become my pillow.

I stood there watching my best friend and his dogs and felt the overwhelming sadness that when we woke up the next morning, there would be a dead body in the living room. I crawled into bed and let myself cry. I was silent, and would not want to wake my bedmates.

Something furry laid itself on my forehead and I looked up through my tears to see a paw on my forehead.

"Thank you, Reika-chan." Pakun whispered his eyes trying to force it's way shut slowly taking off his paw and closing his eyes to succumb to the drugs once more.

Once again, I cried myself to sleep.

Never wanting to wake up the next day.

-.-

 _"Shelby?"_

 _I opened my eyes and watched the various leaves move. There were many colors. Green, brown, yellow, orange, and red._

 _"Shelby!"_

 _I glanced to the right, where the voice was coming from to see a brown eyed, brown haired teen sitting beside me. She was dressed in long-sleeves, but it was hot outside._

 _"Karoline?" I asked._

 _She grinned, a sight I hadn't seen since before her elder sister died._

 _"Did you skip class again?" she asked._

 _This didn't make sense._

 _"And so what if I did." I scoffed, turning towards her. I picked at the grass and threw it on her white shoes._

 _"You shouldn't do that!" She lectured. "You need to get good grades to get into your University of Choice for your Masters?!"_

 _"I'm acing the class with an A." I raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you be more worried about your own grades than mine?"_

 _Her mood darkened._

 _Wait,_ Master's _?_

 _"I don't need to." I sat up and looked at her, puzzled._

 _"I'm dead. Remember?"_

 _Ah, this is a Dream._

 _It suddenly shifted._

 _I hoisted up her unconscious body, the gloves on my hands slipping on the wire I stripped from her fan and wrapped the noose around her neck._

 _"It's your fault!" I growled jumping off of the chair. Only seeing red. "Its all your god damn fault!"_

 _I had knocked her mother unconscious so that she couldn't fight the rope. The perfect murder._

 _Mother sees her daughter strung up, so in devastation, she kills herself in the same fashion._

 _How I planned and carried out a Murder in under 10 minutes still puzzled me. Especially in the state, I was in. I was infuriated._

 _"I hate you," I hissed passing back and forth watching her body twitch in its unconscious state. "You stole her from me. You killed my best friend."_

 _I watched her face turn grey and her body stopped twitching._

 _I watched the side of her face, waiting for her heart to stop._

 _Ten minutes later, it did. Curse her. she never had the privilege of feeling pain having never once waking from her forced sleep._

 _"It's sad I didn't have a lot of time with you," I mutter. "I want to do to you what you did to her."_

 _No, this isn't a dream._

 _"I want to choke you an inch from death. I want to skin you, I want to burn you with cigarette buds. And want to do it all because of all this pressure you put on her. Because you wanted your perfect elder daughter, the one who died in a car crash. So you used my best friend as a punching bag to hide your grief, trying to form her into the child you lost."_

 _Saliva dripped down onto the carpet from her mouth and I couldn't care less._

 _"She had promised me she wouldn't kill herself, and I trusted her!" Angry tears ran down my cheeks._

 _No, this is a memory._

 _"But she did. She betrayed me."_

-.-

I woke in a panic, clawing my ears, not wanting to believe it.

My eyes looked around to see Kakashi and the two dogs around me still passed out. The drugs were obviously still in their system.

I forced myself to calm down and breath. I was not in that life anymore. It didn't matter anymore. I can forget about it.

I sighed, and flopped back down I had more pressuring issues to think about.

I raised my arm and looked at my arm in question. When did I hurt myself? Blood had dried and crusted on my arm. I shrugged, not really caring.

Sakumo

I knew that I had to go check. That was more important. I moved towards the door mechanically. I moved towards the door mechanically. I rubbed my eyes, attempting to get the crust out and to see better. Crying the night before wasn't great for my sight. I moved downstairs, slowly but surely. All too soon I was in front of the door. I stood there a few minutes working up the courage to open the door.

My hand stilled for a second on the door before I slammed it open in one movement.

My heart beat almost drowned out my hearing, and I still couldn't see very well but I know what was there.

The front door opened and I looked over to see Sakumo walking in the door with a bag of groceries in his hand.

I threw myself at him. Hugging him close and burying my face in his stomach. He smelt of woods and dog.

"I'm glad you chose us," I whispered.

His unoccupied hand pet my head.

"I'm making waffles." He said. "Want to help?"

I grinned up at him, not to wipe away the tear marks that ran down my cheeks.

"Of course."

-.-

And here it is.

Sakumo is alive. And yes. This had been my plan all along. Letting him live. I'm curious how the story will change now. Can't wait to explore it now! And I bet you can't wait to read it. Sakumo has always tugged a heartstring for me. and I had always wondered how life would have changed if Sakumo stayed alive.  
This is also a minor Warning chapter, I can tell you that there are quite a few that will pop up now and then.

Now for this week's Question. What is Sakumo going to do now?

Thank you all for the views, follows, favorites, and reviews.  
Ravenmocker6

 **Keiolsha** That is true, Sakumo's death really impacts Kakashi's life. But I think what impacts him more is Sakumo's 'mistake.' Their whole life is targeted because of this, so Kakashi will still have that bit of angst. So you have your wish. Sakumo is alive.

 **KathrynthePyro-bitch** I know what you mean. But I think he will get that development with the village's reaction to Sakumo's mistake then his suicide. The attempted suicide will stay between Sakumo, Reika and the Hokage for a long time. Kakashi only finds out on accident later on.

 **Dark Rose Charm** Obitos screams are great! I did not picture Obito as flexible in this period so I can imagine that whatever Reika ut him through, it was quite painful. Don't worry about forgetting you. I'm not planning on letting this story fade. I have put too much time in this. That would be funny! The 1000 year jutsu!... And here comes another idea *grins*.

 **Armcannos34** You don't know how much that means to me. I don't think anyone has ever described my writing as amazing. Thank you!

 **WhiteFang001** The initial saving is done. Now its all up to Sakumo to save himself.

 **nacheell** Your wish is my command. Sakumo has lived.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13- Reassignment

I waited outside the Hokage's office with Kakashi beside me.

"Why do you think he wants to speak to us?" I asked him.

"I don't know, a mission?" he responded leaning against the wall. I sat on the ground next to him.

"Could be," I responded with a hum.

"Hyuga, Reika and Hatake, Kakashi." The secretary called. "The Hokage will see you now."

We took a look at each other and shrugged.

We followed her up a flight of stairs and to the upper level of the Hokage tower. We stopped at a simple brown door.

"Just this way." She opened the door and we walked into the office.

"Ah! Kakashi-kun, Reika-chan." I twitched at the honorific.

"Good afternoon, Hokage-sama," I replied.

"It has been quite a long time since I have seen you two." He chuckled as the door closed behind us. "You have grown into a shinobi already!"

I raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Oh yes, I'm sorry you must not remember me, you were both very little at the time I visited." He breathed out the smoke from his pipe. "Only a month or so old I would say."

"That was a long time ago, Hokage-sama."

Snapping my head over to the side, I recognized Sakumo standing next to a bookshelf.

"Tou-san?" Kakashi asked, clearly confused. "Why are you here?"

"You will see." He responded with a soft smile.

"Getting to business," the Hokage coughed into his hand. "I'm reassigning you two."

My eyes widened.

"We are getting put back on teams?" I asked surprised.

"Together?" Kakashi's mask was pinching as if he was smiling. A layer of excitement entered his voice.

"Unfortunately, I have once again decided against that." The older man said. He got up from his chair and looked out the window at the village below us. I must say, his view was an impressive sight.

Kakashi's face fell.

"What do you mean? We are being separated?" I asked, trying to get answers. I didn't let the disappointment settle in my gut.

"I have removed Sakumo from Active Jonin Duty." He stated. My eyes flashed over to said man. He still looked tired and there was sadness, and despair in his eyes. I held his gaze searching for something. Anything…

My eyes moistened when I found it. That spark of hope.

"And so you, Kakashi-kun, will be apprenticing under your father." He ordered. "He told me that he would like to spend a few months training you on your clan techniques."

The grin was clear and back with a force from under his mask. I was happy for him, very very happy for both of them. Kakashi will bring Sakumo back. I'm was sure!

"As for you, Reika-chan." I turned my attention back to our village leader. "I am placing you under Team Six, with two new graduates."

I blinked a few times. Six… my lucky number.

I shrugged. At least I will be out of Danzo's hands from now on. This saves my ass.

"May I ask who my Jonin Sensei will be?" I asked.

The Third inhaled the smoke from his pipe and took his time blowing it out.

"A Kunoichi who just recently became a Jonin," he said. "She is a bit of a handful, but quite talented."

My attention snapped to Sakumo who coughed into his hand. His lips were curving in a smile which he tried to hide miserable.

"You will be meeting her and your teammates in a week's time, at training ground number six at seven in the morning." He said.

"Yes, Hokage-sama." Kakashi and I chorused.

"You are all dismissed."

-.-

So that is how I got here.

"Hello! You must be Hyuga, Reika!" I stared at the long red ponytail in amazement. Yup definitely there. So is the purple eyes, and that great smile.

"I'm your Jonin-sensei! Kushina Uzumaki at your service. But you can call me Kushina!" Her grin was blinding and I felt so light headed that my legs shook. "Nice to meet you! Dattebane!"

I sat directly on the ground in wonder.

You have got to be fucking with me.

KUSHINA FUCKING UZUMAKI is my Jonin-Sensei!

"I'm sorry did I scare you by popping out like that?" she asked. "You'll get used to it! Don't worry!"

Shit!

I swallowed my surprise.

"Nice to meet you as well," my voice cracked and I cleared my throat. I picked myself up off the ground and brushed myself off.

"Oh my, you are quite adorable!" Arms crushed me in a hug. When I mean crushing, I mean crushing. I could feel my bones grinding together with the force of her arms.  
Too close, she was too close.

"Now we are just waiting for the other two!" she said bouncing on the balls of her feet. I bend over to catch my breath.

I think The Hokage got it wrong. She's not a handful, she's my worst nightmare. I rubbed my arms, trying to get feeling back in it, and studied my apparent teacher.

Like most people I have come into contact thus far, Kushina looked young. Probably barely 17 if I did my calculations correctly.  
And she is already a Jonin. I blinked, I think that is a testament to her strength. In the canon storyline, I believe the only person who had been promoted to Jonin younger than 17 was Kakashi and Neji.

Neji. I don't know if it was anxiety or excitement that fluttered in my gut, but I didn't like the feeling it gave me.

"Oh, there you two are! I thought you might have gotten lost!" I moved away from the red-haired demon and studied my new teammates.

At first glance, the figure in front looked somewhat creepy, almost like a Pedophile. He had brown spiky hair and round sunglasses. He had a large green coat which went right up to his nose. In went straight down held together by buttons. It had long sleeves that covered his hands and the body of the coat ended at his knees. His legs were covered by brown trousers, with a kunai holster strapped to his right side. His feet were covered with black sandals similar to my own.

My other teammate looked more laid back. His arms were folded behind his head. His long purple hair was tied back in a low ponytail. His blue eyes were like bright sapphires, glinting in amusement. He wore simple black trousers and a grey shirt black fishnet came out from below her shit and his pants were tapped down. The standard shinobi gear was taped to his side. My eyes were drawn to the various large packages that littered his sides. His arms fell down to the sides and I noticed a small metal bangle on his wrist.

"My apologies, Seiichi was sleeping." The brown-haired boy said.

"Was not!" 'Seiichi' muttered. "I was resting my eyes."

I snorted.

"What?" the purple haired kid hissed.

"It's the same thing," I told him. He was about to snap back at me when Kushina clapped her hands.

"Enough children, you must get along!" she said in some sort of sophisticated voice. She grinned right after.

"You three are going to be a team so why don't we start with introductions." She chirped as she plopped down on the ground. "I'll start!"

I sighed before we followed swiftly.

"My name is Kushina Uzumaki, and I have been tasked with being your Jonin-Sensei! Dattebane!" she grinned, looking at each of us. "I love my friends, training, and Ramen. I dislike those that bully others and that horrible nickname people keep calling me!" her fist clenched I was sure her hair began to move upwards.

"As for my dreams for the future…" she grinned, coming back to us. "I want to be the First Female Hokage."

I closed my eyes and huffed, trying to keep my smile to a minimum. She had the same air to her that Naruto would eventually have. That Obito currently has. The aura that attracts people, that makes people love them.

I'm fucked if I will be stuck with these people. I attempted to keep the disgusted expression on my face. I don't need saving, I'm fucked either way.

"Now what about you? Glasses?" she asked looking over to one of my teammates. I bit my lip to stop from snickering at the nickname.

"I would like it if you would refrain from calling me that please." The kid said. Stick in the mud.

"Sure, Glasses," Uzumaki-sensei said. I coughed to cover my laugh.

"My name is Tsubasa Abruame. I like bugs, as my clan works with them. I also like reading and Taking walks in the forest. I don't like those that hate bugs and I detest spiders and birds. My dream is to become a hunter-nin." He pushed up his sunglasses, signaling that he was done.

"That's great, this team will do well for you then!" Kushin a grinned nodding her head repeatedly. "Next, Blueberry!"

"Oh great!" Seiichi growled. "Blueberry! Can't you find some other nickname to give me?"

Kushina patted her chin with her finger.

"Nope!" she grinned. "This one suits your hair too much, Dattebane!"

I snickered into my fist, receiving a glare for it.

"Whatever, my real name is Seiichi Kawasu and I like sleeping and catching people off guard. I dislike people who act too familiar with me and those that try and put me down." He folded his arms on his chest. "My dream is to be the best trapper in the Hidden Leaf Village."

Interesting. Thinking back, In the anime and the manga, I had never noticed a real trapper. Most of the ambushes are just that. They hide and ambush them. Not lead them to a series of traps. That would be interesting to have on a team. I like it.

"What about you? Reika-chan?"

"Hey! Why does she not have a nickname!" Seiichi growled.

"I must agree." Tsubasa inquired.

I dreaded the look that she gave me as if she was really thinking about one. Or that she already had one. I thought her eyes softened, but she looked away before I could confirm it.

"Cause she was here first!" Kushina replied. "that is why she doesn't have a nickname."

I looked at her puzzled. It was going to take quite a bit to get used to her.

"And I haven't thought of anything yet." She admitted.

I snickered, trying to cover it with a cough.  
Thank Office Lady.

"My name is Hyuga, Reika." I started. "I enjoy spending time with my friends, training and learning new things. I dislike, with the exception of a few, dogs, and being told I can not do something."

My dream. What is my dream? I bit the inside of my cheek thinking.

"As for my dream?" I looked into Kushina's eyes. "It is to protect my friends and family from all harm, and to defy all inevitabilities."

Kushin grinned.

"I like all of your answers," she said jumping up and nodding her head.

"I've decided!" she pointing at us. "I will take you all under my wing! We are now Team Six."

"I do not understand, sensei," Tsubasa asked. "I thought we were already a team?"

"We were assigned a team," I told him. "We still have to go through the secret Graduate exam."

"We have another exam?" Seiichi groaned.

"You already passed it," Kushina said smiling. Her purple eyes twinkled as she replaced her hands on her hips.

"Then what was the exam?" Seiichi asked confused.

Us. It was our personality…

"You wanted to see what we are like. Before accepting us."

"Bingo!" she grinned. "I like you guys, I think we will make a great team."

I looked over at my teammates. An Aburame, A civilian-bred, an Uzumaki and Me, a Hyuga.

How the hell does that sound like a good plan?

"All teams have a specialty, what is ours?" Tsubasa inquired. "Reika and I would be good for a tracking team due to our Kekkai Genkai but that wouldn't work with Seiichi and an Uzumaki."

"Hey!" Seiichi growled.

"Can you guess?" Kushina asked, brushing her hair to the side.

Aburame. Civilian, Hyuga, Uzumaki

Bugs expert. Trapper. Tracker. Seal Master.

Wait, Aburame's are trackers too. And there is no sense having two trackers if you can have something else.  
that being said I skills do not fall in trapping, they always fall in combat.

Tracker, Trapper, Fighter, Seal Master.

"We are a seek and capture team," I said coming to the conclusion.

Kushina snapped her fingers with a grin.

"Exactly!"

I looked over at Tsubasa and Seiichi. They must be happy if Seiichi's grin is anything to go by. We are exactly what they wanted.

Closing my eyes, I smirked. I didn't really care either way. I could work with this.

"We are going to be meeting every day starting at seven in the morning here in training ground six. Sundays off." She informed. "We will start the day off with training, Do a mission or two, then finish with training. If you do well during the week, Friday will be our cheat day."

"Cheat day?" Tsubasa asked.

"Yes! It will be my treat." She said with a grin. "A-Team Dinner!"

"Yes! Food!" Seiichi said with a satisfied grin.

"Every other day, we will finish around supper. Every Saturday will be individual training with me." she cracked her knuckles. "You better be ready! We start tomorrow!"

"Yes, Sensei." We chorused.

"Now what about some light sparing to start with?" she grinned sweetly.

Light?  
How cute….

-.-

"Reika?" I flopped on the couch in Kakashi's house, not even turning my head to be able to breathe.

"Leave me alone." I groaned into the cushion.

"Looks like Kushina is the right teacher for you." I turned my head to glare at my adoptive uncle.

"I hate you," I growled. "You have it out for me."

He walked away laughing towards the kitchen. He was punishing me for not letting him commit suicide. I know it.

"So where are you going?" I asked my best friend as I watched him pack his bags properly. He rolled all his clothes and placed them in the bottom of his bag. Next was a small first aid kit, then his weapon sharpeners.

"Traning." He told me. "Dad is going to take me into the Training ground 44." He told me.

"What?!" I fell off the couch and hissed in pain.

Light sparing my ass.

"Yeah, he's going to teach me kenjutsu inside there. We are camping out for a month."

I sighed.

"Lucky!" I groaned. Sitting up on the couch.

"Don't worry, Reika." I heard from the entrance again. I looked to see Sakumo eating a peach and leaning against the door. "We are not leaving for good."

I searched his eyes and was glad to see them brighter. He was definitely okay. He will be fine.

"You better not be," I muttered.

"Kushina gives you Sundays off right?" Sakumo asked.

"Yes," I responded slightly jealous of Kakashi's packing skills. I was a mess when it came to that.

"Then come to gate 7 around nine in the morning and I'll give you some tips for a few hours. I won't take you for the whole day, your parents probably want to spend time with you too." He suggested.

"Really?" I asked. He nodded with a grin.

"choke on your own spit!" someone yelled from the night and threw a bottle into the house. It smashed into the ground and Sakumo sighed. His eyes darkened and my heart sank. But as if a match was lit, Sakumo cocked his arm back and pitched the peach seed out the window. And a thud and cursing was heard.

"Serves him right." My adoptive uncle growled. "Good night you two, Head to bed soon."

Kakashi and I looked over at each other and started to laugh.

Sakumo was definitely getting better.

-.-

"Seven?" my mother asked.

I nodded, munching on the toast as I finished loading my weapons into my pouch.

"Why are you heading out at Six?" she asked me.

"I want to warm up first," I said getting up. I swallowed a hiss and my muscles protested. She's a monster I tell you. A monster.

"that's smart, Kushina can be hard to manage sometimes." She laughed handing me a glass of milk.

I gulped it down and wiped my mouth.

That laughed seemed forced.

"How do you know Kushina-sensei?" I asked, placing the glass back on the table.

"I've worked with her a few times." She said. "she is quite the woman."

I almost snorted.

"You're telling me."

My mother smirked and follow me to the door.

"Be patient with her."

I looked up from my shoes.

"She has a good heart and is a very good kunoichi." She said. I got up and faced her. "she can be a bit much, but I trust her with training you. She can protect you."

"I will Okaa-san," I said. I already knew all that but I would ever say it. She smiled and gave me a kiss on the forehead.

"Have a good day."

I left the house and walked to the end of the compound. The guards stared at me as I went by. I ignored the urge to stick my tongue out at them, or just plain stick my middle figure up at them. I rounded the corner and jumped up onto the wall of a building before using the sky highway.

I made my way to the training field before the sun rose and I touched down in the middle of the field.

I stretched up towards the sky before plopping down on my back. A did a series of 25 sit-ups, then turned to 25 push-ups. This was followed by 25 jumping-jacks. I wasn't breaking a sweat yet but slightly warmed up so I began my basic stretching.  
On my feet, in prayer position, I pushed my hands up creating resistance and breathing out isometrically. I then leaned back until my core tightened. I brought my body back before passing a standing position to place my hands on the ground, my head in between my arms. I exhaled and forced my left foot back into a lunge position. Checking to see if my knee was over my talon, I breathed in. I looked up towards the sky. I felt the stretch in my calfs. I breathed out again moving towards the push-up position. I breathed in, feeling the pull In my arms and back. Exhale. I hopped into a pyramid position and let my heels drop. I hissed as the stretch burned in my calfs and my neck as I aimed it towards my knees. I returned to the lunge position with my left foot forward before bringing both feet together. I pulled my head to my knees touching my forehead to them. The burn was good. Hands together, and spine and head aligned, I returned to the second position.

I redid the exercise again using my right foot next.

Afterward saw a return to cardio and muscles toning after. I started at 24 of situps, push-ups, and jumping-jacks.  
Once done I removed one… 23. 22. 21… all the way down before I started to curse myself at 10, then 6, then 3, then finally 1.  
It was a total of 325 repetitions of each exercise.

Chakra was amazing. This used to be my main cardio and strength exercise that I would do twice a week. Now I knew that I could do it every day, as a warm-up.

I caught my breath, with my hands on my hips.

The tightness in my muscles was gone, and a light burn replaced it. That's a tip for anyone really. If you are sore form a workout, do more exercise. Once the muscles are warmed up, they will not ache anymore.

"Hiya, Reika-chan!"

I jumped whipping my head over to look at the women who had suddenly appeared at my side.

She grinned at my surprise.

"Did I surprise you?"

"Hello Uzumaki-Sensei, when did you get here?" I asked calming my heart. I have either grown soft or she really wanted to sneak up on me.

Her expression turned sour and she waved her finger in my face.

"No, no, no. this will not due." She said. "Uzumaki is too informal. Call me Kushina!"

I almost sighed.

She obviously wanted to scare me.

"Okay, Kushina-sensei," I answered.

"I got here about 10 minutes ago." She answered. "I was watching you, it seems as if you already know the trick right? About movement for sore muscles."

"Yes," I answered, "I did not realize that an hour had already passed."

She shook her head, her beautiful red hair swung beside her.

"no, we still have half an hour until the boys arrive." She answered. "I was coming early to do some light warm-ups as well."

"Ah." I replied. "don't let me distract you then."

I sat on the ground and activated my Byakugan, but she didn't leave.

"I didn't realize this before, but you have a purple tint to your eyes." She asked right in front my face.

"Thanks?" I said a bit creeped out. Like she really was in my face.

"No problem." She grinned. "Can I test your Byukugan?"

I blinked, forgetting about the mole I was trying to track.

"Uh, sure?"

I was still quite intimidated by her. She was real. She was right in front of me.

"Great!" she plopped down in front of me and motioned towards the forest.

And she was adorable.

"I have placed a seal in the forest behind me." she said, "Find it."

I worked the perimeter of the forest first. Looking and skimming all the trees that I came across. After ten minutes of looking, I finally found it on the back of a tree about a kilometer away from our location, near the western side of the forest.

"Found it," I replied. "Westside, 50 trees to the east and 75 North."

"Hmm, ten minutes." She hummed. Suddenly A wicked grin appeared on her face. "In one month, that will go down to five minutes."

"What?" I said surprised and I blinked away the dullness of my plain vision.

"Yup!" she said jumping up. "From now on, whenever we use this field, I want you to locate the seal I place in the forest before we meet."

She nodded up and down, her hair swung with her head. It really was pretty. If I had a choice I would have wanted to be reborn as an Uzumaki. I always loved red hair.

"That's a solid plan."

And it really was. With my parents focusing on their own missions now and team training taking almost all of mine up. I had to find out some way to train my Kekkei Genkai.

"Yes, Uzumaki-sensei." I winced as she tapped the top of my head.

"What did I tell you?"

"Yes, Kushina-sensei."

Voices distracted me from my hyper-active sensei and I was suddenly glad to see Seiichi. He can now be subjugated the torture of her presence. I love her already but she is way too hyper for me to follow all the time. I pity Minato… speaking of him. I want to meet him soon. I could feel my heart pound in my chest. Excited. I forced myself to resist grinning.

"Good Morning, Blueberry!" she called. I watched with pleasure as his blue eyes twitched in annoyance.

"Kushina-sensei." He hissed out.

She grinned before placing her hands on her hips.

"Where is Glasses." She asked.

"I'm right here," Tsubasa said. From the edge of the forest.

"Great, since we are all here. I want to get a sense of everyone's abilities." She said looking over at me. "Reika was here first, so she will go first. The objective is to find her and trap her, and hers is to hide from you."

"Do I get a head start?" I asked getting up and brushing off my kimono.

"30 seconds."

I was gone before she could say any more.

Tsubasa was a tracker, and I didn't want him to take the time to plant a bug on me.

As soon I was out of sight I hit the tree branches and took off. Focusing on my self I let all but a sliver of chakra hide itself. With it, I activated my Byakugan.

I bit my tongue, trying not to make myself sick as I tracked where my teammates were.

You would think I would be used to the sensory information already but, when moving, motion sickness became a factor.

Directly south of me, 30 seconds away. They had found me right away.

But I'm not surprised, Tsubasa could track my scent with his bugs. I stopped on the next branch.  
Clone Jutsu.

My clone took off in the same direction I was going and I jumped up into the upper part of the tree above me, careful of the branches. I didn't want it to seem so obvious that I was still around. From there I stopped all movements and reeled in the small chakra sliver I had left myself. My Byakugan deactivated and I watched the forest around me.

A little swarm of bugs went past me, following the scent of my chakra, aka, my clone.

"I thought we would have caught up with her by now." I heard Tsubasa say. I held my breath, my heart hammering as I listened intently. They absolutely had to stop right below me.

I resisted the urge to huff in agitation in favor of watching Seiichi below me and his breath. I found his rhythm and matched mine.

 _Disguise all parts of you. Even your breathing, match it with your enemies. Not only does it make it easier to understand their situation but it keeps them from hearing you and discovering you._

"My swarm is still following her," Tsubasa answered. "She is now moving westward, I can distract her while you set up some traps." He said.

I watched Seiichi look around him.

"I find it odd though." He responded. "She is just running. She is smarter than that. She knows we are going to catch her if she just runs. The forest is not big enough for her to outrun us."

Shit.

I calmed myself and refused to move, keeping my shadow on the branch, and not moving. I was right above them.

Wait. Kushina never said….

"I agree," Tsubasa responded pushing up his sunglasses. A lone bug landed on his figure. "My swimming has caught up with her. She was a clone. Why? She didn't have a shadow."

"So she's hiding," Seiichi muttered. "What do we do. She is obviously masking her chakra signature."

"Do you think you can trap the northern-east sector of the forest?" Tsubasa asked him.

"Yeah."

"I'll send out a larger swarm to search the western side of the forest." He replied.

"Good thinking," Seiichi said. "She probably isn't too far off from her clone."

Before they could take off, I grinned and jumped from the tree releasing my chakra. Two chakra infused pokes to the neck had both of the kids hitting the ground.

Amatures.

"Well, that's one way to stay hidden."

I looked behind me to see my teacher. Kushina sat on the branch I had jumped from with a grin. She jumped off and heaved each boy on one of her shoulders.

I stared jealously. I want that strength.

"Let's get back to the field so we can go over the fight." She said. I nodded and followed her out.

Without another thought, Kushina plopped both boys ontop each other and sat down next to them.

A moan creeped out form Seiichi's mouth.

"What the hell is ontop me." he groaned.

"Tsubasa," I answered.

"Great." He growled proceeding to push the Aburame off. I watched a beetle crawl out of the black-haired coat and fly towards me. It landed on my shoulder and I let it hang out, not really caring. Beetles never did anything to me.

"So how did you get the drop on us?" the blueberry asked.

"I created a clone, had them take off and hid in the tree above you until you came to investigate my tracks."

"I gathered that." He growled scratching his head.

"how did you hide your chakra so well? And there weren't any disturbances around to indicate there were two of you?" he asked. I saw the tick in his eye and was immediately intrigued.

"It's cause I'm better than you." I teased.

"Why you little."

Hissing out in pain, I cradled my head.

"Don't antagonize your teammate Reika." Kushina lectured. I rolled my eyes and look away. The Aburame was starting the stir.

"What happened?" he groaned sitting up. His hand rubbed the back of his neck.

"She was hiding in the tree above us," Seiichi growled glaring at me. I shrugged further antagonizing him. I tried to surprise a smirk, but it was fun to rile him up.

"Ah." Tsubasa sighed. "That is why my hive was confused."

I looked down at the beetle watching him clean himself.

"So what can we gather from this exercise?" Kushina said. I wanted to make a sarcastic remark but decided against it.

"We have to keep on our guard. Even if it seems like our opponent is so must further ahead of us." Tsubasa said, still shaking the feeling of being unconscious off.

"I'll get you next time," Seiichi growled. I smirked.

"Bring it," I teased.

"All right my precious students!" Kushina chimed, jumping up. "It's mission time."

I groaned.

"No complaining Reika-chan." She said wiggling her finger. I rolled my eyes but got up as well.

"So what is our first mission?" Tsubasa asked.

"We are going to find someone." Our sensei smirked. "I asked Hokage-sama specifically for this mission."

"Someone?"

"Yes, her name is Tama-chan."

-.-

"Get back here you, ugly piece of meat!" Seiichi growled chasing after the brown cat.

I stood there staring at the small demon. It was a slightly older cat, maybe six or seven.

"Be careful with it, it's the fire daimyo's cat!" Tsubasa called. One of his beetles flew in front of the cat, scaring it. It ran in the other direction. Right in front of me.

I dived for the cat, but as graceful as I could be, I miss judged and the cat used my head as a stepping stone. It flew onto the roof before a trap wire caught its leg.

"Gotcha!" Seiichi called, the wire circles the leg, successfully trapping the cat.

"Fucking cat." I hissed under my breath, picking myself off the ground.

"Great job guys!" Kushina sensei giggled, clearly enjoying herself. "You did well, it only took your two hours to catch her."

I moved back as Seiichi came closer to me, holding the little shit by the back of it's scruff.

"get that thing away from me." I hissed.

Tsubasa came up beside Seiichi and hooked a harness and a leash onto the cat.

"Could it be?" Seiichi grinned. "You don't like cats?"

"I think you are correct, Seiichi-kun." The bug-expert said. Seiichi dropped the depressed cat onto the floor and it hissed at him. It then proceeded to sit down at my feet and clean itself.

I shifted my weight, staring at the little monster and couldn't help but remember all those days in which I stepped out of my apartment only to have cat piss all over the bottom of my shoes and my door. Fucking spraying cats and their fucking piss.

"Alright let's get this kitty to the mission's office." Our teacher hummed. I glared at the cat as I followed my team to the mission's office.

"Team Six reporting mission complete." Kushina grinned. "Dattebayo."

"Two hours." The mission officer commented. "Good job."

He grabbed the paperwork and stamped it. Another Chunin came towards us to collect the hellion.

As if knowing what he was there for, Tama hissed and jumped up Seiichi's leg, scratching it in the process.

"Oww! You damn cat!" The purple-haired kid hissed. The cat managed to evade the hands that tried to catch it and ended up jumping from Seiichi's to my shoulder.

"You are a pain in the ass." I hissed quietly at it. I watched it sit on my right shoulder and I prayed that she wouldn't piss.

By some miracle, the cat started to purr, rubbing itself on the side of my head.

My eyebrow twitched in annoyance before the Chunin finally got ahold of her and took her off my shoulder.

By this time my team was laughing at me.

"Reika might not like cats, but they sure like her." Seiichi snickered. I glared wholehearted at them.

I glared at the demon cat as it was shoved into a carrying cage and out brought out of the room.

I was lucky. She didn't piss on me.

"Alright!" Kushina grinned. "Who is up for another mission!"

Insert groan.

-.-

Hello everyone!

Have no fear, the new chapter is here! We are actually up to date with my writing at the moment and I am moving into the end of my semester at school so I will definitely try to keep my schedule give or take a few days.  
I just want to the take the time to thank everyone for their feedback on the last chapter. It means a lot.

This week's question is... What do you think of Team 6? Kushina, Seiichi, Tsubasa, and Reika?

Thank You all for your support, and stay tuned. This party is only getting started.  
RavenMocker6

 **Dark Rose Charm** , It will be a long time before Kakashi finds out that Sakumo tried to kill himself. o you don't have to worry about that for quite a bit. As for her grandfather, trust me, I can't wait to write it! Thanks for the Review!

 **Keiolsha** , It wasn't a hard decision, he has always been one of my favorite characters.

 **WhiteFang001** , Very Good! That is exactly what I am planning. Hense Training Ground 44. Good luck Kakashi!

 **Sazaleli** , Thank you, Reader-san.

 **Lizyeh2000,** Thank you! Sorry for not updating as fast as possible. University has officially told me to F-Off.

 **KathrynthePyro-bitch** , Thank you. 3 Sorry about this chapter, it must pale in comparison.

 **Silverlined Phoenix** , I'll try to remember to do that in the next chapter that deserves a warning. Hot springs... That sounds good. I'll make sure he eventually takes a break.

 **Loup-13** , Well... I love Sakumo, in to be honest I was thinking about it at first but he grew on me, so I just couldn't kill him. It is also because everyone else kills him, I decided to keep him. Thank you!

 **curlystruggle** , It is no problem, I love Sakumo too much.

, Don't cry. He's not dead... *here's a tissue*.

 **Guest** , Yup. He definitely can help and in many ways. I realized early on, that Sakumo living can change so much!

 **AsbelLhant** , Yes he did, I couldn't kill him off! Thanks.

 **Shubhangi,** Your wish is my command.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14- The Cost of War

"Eighty-three, Eighty-four, eighty-five!" I stopped in front of the academy, the crickets screeching all around me.

I knew that voice.

I walked into the yard to look around. It was nighttime, and I had been walking home from some late night training.

"Eighty-six, eighty-seven…" I watched the kid as he did his pushups. "Eighty-eight, eighty-nine."

Sweat poured off his almost mushroom cut hair and hit the ground.

That can't be.

Gai. It was Gai…

"Ninety-six, ninety-seven…"

I walked up to him before stopping near his head.

"Ninety-nine!" He hissed. "A Hundred!"

He fell to the ground catching his breath.

"How long have you been here?" I found myself asking.

"Reika-chan?" he asked trying to get up off the ground. His limbs failed him and his head hit the ground.

"Owww."

"You need a shower," I told him. "And a bed."

"I know." He said, grinning. "But I haven't seen you since you graduated."

He tried once again, managing to move onto his butt.

"We must catch up!"

I sighed knowing that he wouldn't answer my first question.

Selective hearing I tell you. Kushina was also a master at it.

"How have you been?" he asked with a grin.

"I'm good, I have finally been assigned a proper team," I told him. I sat next to him, knowing exactly what coming. "What about you? How is the academy?"

I had been at this point too. This point of exhaustion.

"It's good!" He grinned. "I won another fight yesterday!"

I was watching him sway.

This kid has been working too hard.

"That's good. Who did you win against?"

He produced a thumbs up, his eyes closing.

"Raido…" I caught him as he fell towards the ground.

Laying him down I placed a finger on his neck, quenching my anxiety.

"Idiot," I muttered.

He was working too hard. Too hard for his age. I looked down at my seven-year-old hand. We all have.

I shrugged before turning around to settle the passed out older kid onto my back.

But I had a problem…

"I don't even know where you live," I growled to myself as I walked out of the courtyard. "Now what do I do?"

I made my way around the streets, with the cringe-worthy monstrosity on my back.

"Yes, Hokage-sama." He muttered into my hair. "I accept my promotion to Chunin."

"Please don't drool!" I growled to myself.

I activated my Byakugan and searched the kilometer around me as I moved.

Might Dai should be around here somewhere. At least I hope he's out looking for his son… but with that family, I wouldn't be surprised.

It took over an hour before I became fed up.

"Oi! Gai!" I growled. "Get up."

He muttered some more but didn't wake up.

Maybe I should just leave him on a bench.

"Reika?" I blinked before turning around.

A brown haired young man came up beside me.

"Umino-sensei?" I asked surprised.

I studied him, realizing that it had been maybe a year and a bit since I graduated. And he hadn't changed much. Still had that ugly mustache.

A year and I already went through what most would never have.  
Threatened by Danzo... Saving someone from suicide.

I refused to think what this meant for the future. What twisted fantasy have I really gotten myself into?

"What are you doing here so late at night?" he asked stopping beside me.

I pointed to the sleeping freak of nature and he almost cracked a smile.

"He passed out while training and I don't know where his house is," I told my ex-teacher.

"I can take him," he responded hoisting the kid onto his shoulders. "He does this often."

"You know where his house is?" I asked him, shifting.

"Yeah, At one time I was in the same genin team as his father." He answered.

At one time. That's true. Dai… the Eternal Genin.

"I'll go with you," I told him. "I know this will not be the only time in which I find Gai this exhausted."

"I would never have believed you would be such a good friend." He teased. I rolled my eyes and ignored him as we walked.

We walked through the busy streets before taking a turn towards the east side of the village.

"How are you finding Genin-life?" he asked once we veered off towards an actual direction.

"Boring," I answered. "I was just put on a reasonable team."

"Reasonable?" he asked.

"Yes, we can actually work together rather than the team I was originally put on," I told him. "Seiichi and Tsubasa are actually quite interesting."

"Ah." He stopped and stared at me.

I raised an eyebrow at his stalling.

"Sensei?"

"You have Kushina?" he asked, shocked.

"You know her, too?" I asked.

He shook his head and a grand smile spread across his face.

"Yes, I fought against her in the third round of my first chunin exam."

"You took it more than once?"

"Don't look so surprised." He said finally starting to walk again. "I passed on my second try, and that is better than the average number."

"What is the average?" I asked.

"ONE HUNDRED TIMES!" Gai shouted from Umino-sensei's back.

We stopped moving and looked back at the still sleeping academy student.

"No, not a hundred," Ikkaku smirked. "It's more like 3-4 times."

"Ah," I answered. I think I remember that. I wonder if I'm only going to take them with Kakashi, Obito, Gai and Rin.

"You can be sure that Kushina will probably enter you three in the next chunin exam." He said crushing my hope. We moved towards the forest before following the edge of it.

"I have that feeling that as well," I told them. "When is it?"

He was silent as we rounded a part of the dense forest to reveal a plain. On the plain, near the forest, a small wooden house was placed. It was small and cute. Far enough from the village to have privacy but not far enough to hinder them.

"Should be in June-July." He said. "That's if we don't erupt into war anytime soon."

I ignored the anxious feeling that settled in my gut.

Eight months. I had maybe 8 months left of being a genin.

We walked up to the door and I knocked for Ikkaku.

The door opened soon enough and an older Guy.

"Hello!" he yelled in Ikkaku's face. I took a few steps backward and hoped to the office lady that he wouldn't see me.

"Hello, Dai." My old teacher said very monotoned.

"Oh! Ikkaku!" Holy shit his eyebrows are thick. "What may I do for you?"

"Reika found your son exhausted in the schoolyard." The asshole said. I glared at my ex-teacher's head.

"Oh! So you are Reika!" he yelled taking two large steps and taking my hand in his. He shook it up and down in a very exaggerated pattern "It is very nice to meet another one of my Son's Youthful friends!"

"Uhh." My eyebrow twitched and I suddenly had to quench the urge to kick him in the nuts.

"I have met the lovely Rin, the funny Obito and even Gai's rival Kakashi but I had yet to meet you!"

"You are scaring her Dai." Ikkaku sighed shifting Gai into his arms.

"Ikkaku! Don't say that! How can someone be scared of me!" He grinned giving me a thumbs up. I turned away before his teeth sparkled and the rainbows started.

"I'm going home," I called walking away.

Before I could get too far away I was called back.

"Reika."

I looked over my shoulder to see Gai in Dai's arms and Ikakku starting there.

"Thank you for taking care of my son."

"Hn." I snorted. "That is what friends are for." I took off from there heading over to the Hyuga compound for a few hours before Kushina's hell began anew.

-.-

It wasn't even a few days later when we got a bigger mission.  
Why so soon? One word...

Kushina.

I focused my chakra on the bottoms of my feet and took my first step onto the still water. I let my foot touch the water before transferring a bit more weight onto it. It sunk a bit into the water so I pulled back my foot a bit to add some chakra.

I replaced my foot and it almost seemed as if it the chakra was pushing the water away from me. Too much.

I readjusted so that when I placed my foot on the water it held.

Placing my full weight on the foot I did the same thing to the other.

"What the hell! How the hell are you getting this so fast! Reika!" Seiichi yelled from the nearest tree. I gave him a figure that held a 'secret' meaning for the whores in the red light district.

"Shut Up!" he yelled back.

I took another step before exhaling. Concentrating some more, I deactivated my Byakugan and waited to see if it would hold. It did.

"Seiichi. What are you waiting for?" Tsubasa asked from the same direction as Seiichi. Didn't you hear Kushina-sensei? We have to be able to get the kunai before she comes back."

I took another step and then another walking faster and faster, blocking out my teammates' bickering.

I took a few minutes to get used to it.

I'm a bad ass. Got this down! I grinned before jumping up into the air.  
Before landing neck deep in the lake.

"SHIT!" I cried at the cold that assaulted my body. "That's fucking cold!"

"Did you say something? Reika?" Tsubasa called.

I glared at my other teammate who was pointing and laughing at me.

"Ha ha ha," I growled, hoisting myself up onto the water by my hands going into a handstand before hand-walking towards the shore.

It was so much easier to walk on my hands to water-walk, then to use my feet.

"It's all the techniques that I use my hands for, I'm always dispersing it from there," I muttered before shaking off on shore. "Its easier to control."

"How are you two doing?" I called as I walk over to their trees.

While I had already mastered tree-walking, the boys had not.

"I'm doing a bit better then Seiichi," Tsubasa reported slightly out of breath. "Why? Because he is not trying."

"Right!" Seiichi rolled his eyes, not even breaking a sweat.

"This is essential to becoming a ninja," I told him, my eye twitching in annoyance.

"Yeah, but it usually takes at least a week for a ninja to tree-walk, not an hour so why try?' he argued.

I sighed.

"Try it," I told him. "I'm sure you can get it down within the hour."

"right." Seiichi turned back to the tree and took a half-hearted run at it. I took the time to activate my Doujotsu and watched as he went up at least a quarter of it before sliding back down.

"You are putting too little chakra into your feet. Add at least another half of what you are using and you'll get it." I said before turning to my other teammate.

"Thank you for helping us Reika." The polite one said.

"I'm taking a little break from my water walking anyway." I shrugged. He nodded before running up the tree as well. He went up half of it before his foot splintered the wood.

"Too much!" I said as he landed. "Remove about an eight of the chakra and you should be fine," I told him. all that was left was for them to practice a few times, get used to the chakra distribution and they will have it. Then it is building stamina.

I glanced at their chakra network and calculated how much chakra they had. They were both on the low side. I almost had more chakra then both of them together and I was seven. They will have a hard time with building stamina that's for sure.

"Thanks."

I deactivated my Kekkei Genkai and turned around.

I didn't stop walking when I got to the shore, but instead calmly walked up onto it. And as if I had been working for days, instead of an hour, my feet held.

"Alright," I whispered to myself. Let's continue with some katas.

I splayed out my feet and worked through the movements of my latest Kata. Palm strike, kick, reposition, block, divert, strike, parry, kick.

"Vaccum Palm Strike!"

I stepped into the jutsu, realizing the chakra strike before my foot moved down, the water overtaking my ankle but it still holding in the water.

"I have a lot to work on," I whispered.

"Show off!" Seiichi growled from the treeline. I felt the urge to stick up the middle figure once again but was actually surprised at their progress. Both boys had reached the branches of the tree, and Seiichi was actually higher then Tsubasa. And pretty much at the kunai that Kushina had placed there.

"What happened to it 'taking a week to learn tree-walking, much rather an hour?'" I grinned.

My previous gesture was returned to me and I laughed.

Asshole.

But I must say these kids were great. They worked fast when motivated.

"Wow! You three learn fast!"

I jumped, almost losing my concentration on my feet.

"Sensei!" I growled.

"Oh sorry did I scare you again?" she grinned from behind me. I saw the mischievous look in her eye and frowned.

She did that on purpose.

The boys jumped down from the trees and we met them on land.

"Where did you go, Kushina-sensei?" Tsubasa asked adjusting his coat. Another one of his beetles flew out from his neckline and flew over to me. I ignore it as it perched on me and listened to our teacher.

"I overheard some of the chunin at the missions desk talking about a week-long D-rank so I wanted to get it before the other Jonin-sensei's got wind of it." she smiled.

"A week-long already?" Seiichi moaned. "We have only been a team for four days? It's Friday tonight, I want food!"

"Oops?" Kushina grinned. "Oh well, we will go another night."

"I'm more worried about our day off." I groaned. I won't be able to go see Sakumo and Kakashi. I hope they are having better luck then I am. "We are also missing our personalized training day!"

"So yes!" Kushina ignored us and continued to tell us information. "They are usually given to the genin corps."

"I thought so as well," Tsubasa said. "That is what Akiko-sensei told us in class."

"Yes," Kushina smiled. I got a sudden bad feeling In my gut.

"Usually only they get those because they often work solo. But for this mission, they need a group of people to help."

"and what is this task?" I sighed giving in. We are obviously going to take it no matter what.

"Let's head out and I will explain on the way," she said.

I groaned looking at my wet clothing before following my teammates out of our training area.

"We are going to help a Blacksmith who has hurt his back working a few months ago." She called back. We used the skyway, jumping from house to house.

"Which one?" I asked, catching up with them. I knew all the blacksmiths in the village due to my previous position.

"He lives alone near the northern forest." She replied.

"Ah." We hopped down from the last building and followed the treeline. We soon got to an old building where piles of different ores were pilled around the building.

"It seems as if we have the place," Tsubasa said.

I sighed before following my teacher to the doorway.

"Hello, Obara-san!" Kushina called from outside.

No answer.

I sighed, knowing exactly whose blacksmith this was.

"Obara-san!" Kushina called again.

Raising my hand, I forewent knocking and just opened the door.

"Reika!" Seiichi stopped pouting and hissed. "You can't just walk in."

I rolled my eyes and looked around the front of the workshop.

"Watch me."

Weapons hung all around the walls and from the ceiling. A barely working kiln and an anvil were placed in the middle of the back wall. An empty basin next to it with tools littering the floor.

"Kushina-sensei?" Tsubasa asked. I looked over to see our teacher coming in right after me.

"Ooo~ these are pretty." She said looking at the swords which were hooked onto the wall.

"He never invited us in," Seiichi hissed. "This is rude."

"Calm down, Blueberry." Kushina sang, slightly distracted. "It's fine."

I walked to the kiln, touching it, feeling a warmth from it but not the burning heat it usually is.  
"He hasn't worked in here for a day or two," I mentioned.

"It looks like it," Tsubasa answered me, also moving into the workshop and taking a look at the weapons.

I walked towards the right wall and opened the door which leads into his house.

"I'm not part of this!" Seiichi growled, slowly creeping up from the back.

"Ken-san!" I called walking in. I got an answer immediately.

"Ohh! Reika-chan!"

An older man, rounded the corner from his kitchen dressed in a simple grey kimono. He was short, barely over 5"2, and his hair was grey. He was easily at least sixty-five years old, and fragile. Despite his age, this man had such bright green eyes, so full of life.

"Hello," I replied. A grin split across his face.

"Have you come for a visit!" he asked motioning me forward. "Come come, my dear, I'll make some tea!"

"So it seems like you already know our client!" Kushina said from behind me with surprise in her voice.

I nodded.

"I know all the blacksmiths in the village," I responded.  
I did enough ore runs when I was in Genin corps.

"Ah, hello!" Ken grinned, holding onto his back and coming closer.

"My name is Obara, Ken'ichi." He introduced. "Am I right in guessing this is the team the mission's office has appointed to help me?"

"You are correct!" Kushina beamed. "My name is Kushina Uzumaki, and this is my team, Seiichi Kawasu, Tsubasa Aburame and you know Reika."

"Nice to meet you," Ken'ichi said. "I'm sorry for asking you this as soon as you get here, but I will have to ask you to work hard this week."

"Don't worry about that." Kushina answered grinning, "They need some muscles."

I groaned. Not again.

I looked over at his posture and frowned, but didn't say anything. He was overworking himself.  
"Good, now I need one of you to start bringing a pail of ores and another to start a fire."

I turned to go towards the kiln but Ken'ichi stopped me.

"No, no, no, dear." He smiled. "You have steady hands."

I raised an eyebrow as Kushina busied herself with instructing the boys.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

His eyes twinkled. And I felt the Tsubasa's beetle finally leaving me and heading out the door. And I honestly don't blame him. If I had a chance I would probably run too.

"If this was any other team I would have done all the smithing, but since I hit the jackpot with you, I'm going to guide you through blacksmithing."

"What? Why me?" I asked pointing to myself.

He grinned, a twinkle in his eye.

"You already know the trade from all the questions I answered for you last time.

My eyebrow twitched.

 _"_ _Hello Again, Obara-san," I yelled knocking on his workshop door._

 _The banging stopped and a yell answered me._

 _"_ _I thought I told you to just come in, my dear."_

 _I opened the door to see the older man bent over his anvil, a glowing sword in clamps._

 _"_ _another delivery?" he asked placing the sword back in the water to cool. A hissing noise filled the room._

 _"_ _yes," I told him handing him the scroll. He grabbed it, not even checking it over before shoving it in his robes._

 _He got up wincing and holding his back._

 _"_ _Obara-san. You should rest a bit." I scolded._

 _"_ _Sorry dear." He said. "I don't have anyone else to help me so I have to do it all by myself."_

 _"_ _Not even kids?" I asked._

 _He shook his head._

 _"_ _Never got married." He told me. " but if you are offering, you can take over after I die._

 _"_ _Don't joke about that, Obara-san." I snorted, mildly amused._

 _"_ _Oh, come on?" he teased. "you wouldn't want to know how to create and fix your own weapons?"_

 _I shrugged._

 _"_ _I'd be interested, but I'm a ninja first. I don't have time to learn."_

 _"_ _I knew it." he walked around me and guided me by my shoulders, towards the door to the interior of his house. "Come let's have a cup of tea while we chat, this lonely old man needs his social time."_

 _"_ _Obara-san I have to get back to work." I tried._

 _"_ _Nonsense, I'm the last blacksmith on your list, you are free after me," he said. "And quit it with the formality. Call me Ken!"_

Shit. I thought as the older man guided me back out the door towards his workshop.

"Reika-chan!" he barked. "pay attention. To my instructions."

Me and my big mouth.

-.-

"Hit it harder." He barked.

"Fuck off," I muttered forcing my arm down harder. Thankfully the sound of metal hitting metal covered it up my words.

Ken'ichi sat on a chair next to me, watching me work, a cup of tea in his hands. He was in the same position for the past four days.

Seiichi groaned as he walked back in with a shovel of coal. His hair was damp, with sweat pouring off his face from the heat

"We have been at this for hours." He groaned. "I want a nap."

I hit the faded red metal once more, before looking over at Ken. He nodded and I replaced it back in the kiln. Seiichi then put his coal in with the non-yet sword coving it with the ambers.

I removed the clamps from the metal before getting up and stretching my back.

I understood why Ken'ichi had so much back pain now.

"Go take a break, you kids." He told me, "I'll work on it this time."

I frowned.

"You shouldn't be doing it with your back!" I scolded.

But only got a laugh in response.

"I've had this back pain for years, Reika-chan." He grinned. "I'm taking it easy don't you worry."

I sighed before leaving the smokey workshop that I had been accustom to, Seiichi following my step.

"Hey, you two!"

I looked over at the side to see Kushina and Tsubasa sitting down on a log with a basket in front of them.

"Is that food?" Seiichi asked. We sped up a bit.

"Yes," Tsubasa answered. "Kushina-sensei's boyfriend came to bring it to us."

I stopped in my tracks right I front of my teammates, letting Seiichi get there first.

"Your boyfriend?" I asked her. She grinned, a red tint appearing on her cheeks.

"Yes, you'll meet him one day." Her fingers toyed with the seam of her pants. "He's great, Dattebane!"

No.

No, Reika.

Bad Girl!

No gushing. You were one of the best Underground fighters in Montreal. You are now fighting to become THE game changer in this world…

…

"When are we meeting him?"

She looked up at me and placed a finger on her cheek.

"He'll probably be eating with us this Friday night for our first team meal if you three keep up the hard work."

"What is his name?" Tsubasa asked, curious. "I was cleaning up the ore piles when he got here. So I did not get to meet him."

"Namikaze, Minato." She answered her cheeks almost the same color of her hair.

She's so cute. I want to hug her.

And Minato… Am I going to meet Minato?

"Reika?"

And he made us lunch? The fourth Hokage made us lunch? Well, Future Fourth Hokage.

The Office lady is amazing.

"Why are you smiling?"

I snapped out of my thoughts and looked over at Seiichi.

"What?" I asked. "Did you say something?"

"I asked why you were smiling?" he grounded out.

"I was trying to imagine what Namikaze-san must be like, for Kushina-sensei to fall in love with him," I said.

"Alright, you two!" she said, clearly embarrassed. "Enough about me, dig in. Dattebane."

She didn't have to tell us twice before I looked into the basket. Various onigiri were in the basket along with a large bowl. Seiichi took charge to remove the food before taking out the bowl. Almost immediately it was plucked from his hands.

"Sorry kids." She placed the bowl on her lap and took out chopsticks. "This is mine!" she opened the top and the smell of heaven crafted from the bowl.

Ramen.

I looked down at the Onigiri. And I immediately became jealous. It smelled so good.

A buzz reached my ear and I look down as for the umpteenth time, that same beetle landed on my shoulder.

I sighed before taking a piece of rice placing it on my shoulder near the beetle. Once he started to eat I turned back to my food and ate.

"So this is the plan for tomorrow, Kiddies," Kushina said placing down her now empty bowl on the ground next to her.

I munched on the food as she filled us in.

"Since we have gotten worked here the past few days already and no, I'm not sorry for taking your free Sunday away from you yesterday, we will be continuing our regular training for the rest of the week. Tomorrow, get here at the same time and instead of just sitting around waiting for the kiln to warm, we will try another one of the seek and capture exercises in the back forest." She said pointing to the forest behind us. Seiichi and Tsubasa looked over at each other before glancing at me.

There was no way I was going to be the hunted again. So that means it is going to be one of them. I internally shrugged, it should be easy enough.

"Reika-chan!" Ken called from inside the workshop. "Can you come take over please?"

I sighed before getting up off the ground. The beetle also chose that moment to fly away and back to Tsubasa. I caught the boy's eye and an unfamiliar emotion passed in them.

"Reika!"

I sighed and walked back towards the workshop where the impatient old man was yelling.

-.-

"You have 30 seconds, Blueberry," Kushina-sensei said. The boy took off soon after. I looked over at my partner to see him releasing one of his bugs and letting it fly in the forest.

He's going to tag Seiichi so that we can follow him.

"You have ten minutes to catch him," she told us. She was grinning. That should have been my first clue.

I yawned and honest I remember thinking that this is going to be easy.

Yes… I thought.

I agree 100%, I was an idiot.

…

"What The Hell!" I growled dodging another kunai. It came close to hitting my skin, ripping a hole in my kimono top.

"How the hell did he have enough time to set this many traps," I called to my partner.

"Right foot, trip wire!" I called right after. He stilled before stepping over the ninja wire, he had failed to detect before.

"I believe he was sure he would be chosen and prepared it last night." He jumped up towards the branch I landed on and picked up the female beetle he had wanted to place on Seiichi.

"She's been put to sleep," Tsubasa answered my unasked question.

"That's it," I growled, activating my Byakugan. "No more playing nice."

"How many traps do you see?"

"Tch." I hissed, studying the minefield in front of me. "He has the whole ground trapped as well as the branches," I told him.

"We are running out of time." He said. "We only have five minutes left."

I scanned the trees once again. Trap wire, ninja wire bending back a branch, a pitfall… this guy didn't cut any corners.

"Found him," I called jumping to an untrapped area. "He's in the middle of a small clearing trapped with various ninja-wire traps around him."

The bug's expert nodded letting loose close to ten beetle out towards the direction.

"I'm going to try to paralyze him," he responded as we rushed through the traps. A few times we miss stepped and hit a wire which would release a weapon, or a branch or was a dud to make us paranoid.

We reached within eight meters of him and stopped to hide in the bushes. We were both attempting to hide our chakra signatures but Tsubasa was not that good yet. But that is normal, he has only been a Genin for a week.

"I know you are there, Tsubasa!" Seiichi called, sitting lazily in the middle of the clearing shaded by branches.

Cocky little shit.

"You should be around somewhere too, Reika."

Somewhere? He doesn't know where I am.

I looked over at the Aburame and nodded towards our piece of shit teammate that really wanted to kill us.

"You got me, Seiichi, Why?" Tsubasa said walking towards him. "Because I let you."

Seiichi didn't look impressed as he held up a little bottle of fluid.

"Knock-out fumes," Tsubasa said studying his bugs littering.

"Yup," he said. My Byakugan picked up his cocky roll of the eyes. Blowing his purple out of his face, he didn't move from the center of his trapped.

Cocky, Son of a bitch.

Annoyance raged through me. I watched his breathing some more before matching my own with his.

"Seiichi. You are a sitting duck." Tsubasa said walking closer to the most obvious traps. "Why? Because you trapped yourself inside this open space."

I saw the smirk, and my gut fell, as I realized what he was doing. I was a second too late before Tsubasa took another step right onto the top of a pitfall.

"Watch out!" I called jumping out of the bushes.

My second mistake.

Right as Tsubasa fell into the trap, The Blueberry moved his arm.

Like a rabbit, my foot was caught in ninja wire and I was strung upside down.

"Asshole!" I hissed.

"I think you to have been captured by the person you were supposed to capture." Kushina laughed from above me.

Gentle Fist Art One Blow Body

The ninja wire was torn to shreds and I fell to my feet.

"Are you okay, Tsubasa?" I called down to my partner.

"Yes." His voice echoed.

"I think I can officially say that Blueberry wins," Kushina said, wiping tears from her eyes. My eyebrow twitched.

I was outsmarted and overwhelmed by a 10-year-old boy.

And no, I was not pouting!

I sighed before reaching the pitfall, only for Tsubasa to jump out.

"You defeated us completely." The bug lover told our trapper. "but how did you know that you were going to be picked?"

"He did not," I answered for Seiichi.

"Exactly!" he grinned standing up. He twisted the wire, removing it from a metal trigger near him. as if on command, The wire rolled up on some sort of pulley device on his wrist. It was actually kind of intriguing.

"I had two options. To be or not to be."

That is the question.

I tried not to smirk at the reference that only I would get.

Fucking, Shakespeare.

"If I was chosen, I had traps set so that I could divert you, waste time, and be safe." He said. "If you were, then I had control of where you were going and would have diverted you to this same area, where you would have been trapped anyway. A good trapper knows to always use the time you have wisely."

"Very good, Dattebane!" Kushina grinned. "I'm surprised that you thought of setting up the night before."

"Well, I had motivation." He stared at me and I pretended not to notice.

"Who's better than who now?" He sneered.

Oh its on.

My eyes caught his and I couldn't help but smirk.

"You are on, Blueberry." I snickered.

"All right kiddies!" Kushina said shifting her weight. "Reika, Glasses, you guys report back to Ken'ichi."

"What about me?" Seiichi asked.

"You have to clean up all your traps."

"What?"

"You can't just leave them here." She snickered. "What happens if a Civilian or a Child stumbles upon them."

I snickered.

"Have Fun, Seiichi," Tsubasa called as we walked away from the metaphorical minefield and retraced our steps back to the workshop.

"SHIT!"

I grinned as I heard Kushina's laughter.

"I believe I am somewhat okay with him winning now." Tsubasa said. "he has to clean up his own mess now."

I grinned.

"I never would have guessed that you would have a vindictive streak."

-.-

"Good job, today Reika-chan," Ken said getting up off the chair he had brought over to the anvil so that he could look over my work.

"I still have no idea what I'm doing," I told him. he laughed.

"Does anyone."

I shrugged, he did have a point there.

I pulled the cooled sword out from the water and held it up to the fire. It took three days to work on the sword and I had only just finished it. It was obviously not up to par with Kenichi's work, but he did fix a few bumps in it. It was beautiful and actually straight.

"I'm surprised you are doing as well as you are blacksmithing." He told me. "I was expecting to have to correct more of your work than this."

He winced as he straightened his back.

"Do you need help getting inside," I asked turning towards him.

"Oh, you are such a good girl." He teased. I glared, it only makes him laugh some more.

"I've had this back pain for a long time, don't worry about me, but if you can spare a few minutes for a chat, I'll make some tea." He said moving slowly towards the door to his house. I shrugged, leaving the sword where it was and moved inside the house.

"I have a few minutes to spare, while Kushina gets the boys in gear so they can shut off the kiln, and re-pile the ores and coal in the yard," I told him.

Walking into his kitchen and directed him to his table.

"Rest a bit longer, I'll make the tea," I told him as I heated the kettle on the stove, I climbed up onto the counter and pulled out his teapot from the cupboard.

"You spoil me, my dear." He chuckled. "I only have one session left at the hospital and I will be cleared for heavy work again."

"All the more reason to rest."

I bought the hot teapot over to the table with two cups.

"You have the talent for blacksmithing," Ken'ichi said as he took to pouring the tea. "If the Ninja-lifestyle ever does not work out for you let me know, I'll give you a job here."

"Thank you," I told him. "But I don't think that is going to happen."

"You never know, child. You can't be older then eight a lot can happen in the years that pass," he chuckled.

"Let me entertain you with a story."

I narrowed my eyes not knowing where he was going with this.

"Okay," I responded. "I'll listen."

"I was born in the Warring States period, right before the formation of the Village."

I lifted my eyes to look at the older man in front of me. The bags around his eyes looked somewhat deeper and he was hunched over his tea.

"I do not have a lot of memories from that period, as I was still very young. But I do remember the formation of the village, the Shodamie building our house for us, and I remember going through the Academy when Tobirama-sama created it and I had become a ninja by the age of ten." He started. "The First Hokage died just years after he killed Madara, leaving behind his children and a few grandchildren, one of which is Tsunade-sama, and his title to his brother, who was four years younger than him."

"Where are you getting with this?" I asked, warming my suddenly cold hands on the teacup. "We learned all this in the academy."

"You are getting impatient." He chuckled. "I fought in our forces in the First Great Shinobi War when I was twenty-three."

"You did?" I asked, surprised.

"The war went on for four years, but in the third year I made a wrong turn and was attacked from behind by a Suna-nin. His kunai was poisoned and it lodged itself in back; permanently damaged it. Hense my back pain today."

I sat back in my chair looked at the older man in a new light.

He was a veteran. He fought and was permanently injured in one war, and had to sit back while more of his friends were killed in the Second War, twenty years later.

And he will watch as more will fight in the Third. Where he will outlive children.

"I know what you are thinking Reika-chan." He said leaning forward. "I could not participate in the second war no matter what I tried, not even Lady Tsunade could find a way to completely heal me."

I felt cold, despite the burning hot tea that flowed down my throat.

"Despite that, I still aided my fellow ninja by creating weapons for them." He said. " I might not be as good as the blacksmiths in Takumi Village, but I do what I can, and there is no shame in it."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Two things child." He sipped the last of his tea. "War is coming, and you will be sent out. I'm telling you to survive as best as you can. And if you come back permanently injured like over 75% of the surviving ninja that fought in the Shinobi World Wars, This place will be open to you if you need a trade."

That asshole.

"Do you really think I'm going to be hurt like that?" I snapped. I can't, I have too much to do in this world.

Ken started to laugh.

"I'm lucky to have gotten out with a flesh wound, the authorities recognize my disability." He said getting up and grabbing my cup. "Most come home with wounds that are active between their two ears. War is Hell, and you are such a good girl. I don't want you to suffer."

I looked down at the ground.

Mental health, that is what he is talking about. He is afraid that war will drive me up the walls.

I sighed and thanked Ken'ichi for the tea.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Ken," I said putting my shoes back on.

"Thank you for your hard work." He replied.

I left the house and walked through the workshop.

Little did he know that I have a lot of experience dealing with low mental health. I've already experienced similar effects to war.

I've been to that dangerous place. I've tightrope that cliff. And I almost lost my balance quite a few time. The descent to the sea, looked so comforting, despite knowing the sea would drown me.

I sneered at absolutely no one.

But I won't give into it. I never will.

I will keep my vice grip on that rope no matter how soft the ocean looks. No matter how much I want to sleep.

I will survive because I don't have a choice. If I let myself die, all those that I care about would suffer.

I can change this world.

I stopped outside the workshop and watched Tsubasa and Seiichi talk. Laughing. Kushina-sensei said something and I could almost see the twitch in Seiichi's eyebrow. Then it was Kushina's turn to laugh.

I will change this world.

And I will protect them.

-.-

 _I sat on my rock hard bed, in sweatpants and a tank top. I swallowed the bile that threatened to rise in my throat._

 _I was in my apartment, a plain loft, with a bed, a night table for my clothes, a punching bag, weights and kitchen supplies. No pictures littered the white walls, I had no sheets, it was a sleeping bag I got for 40$ at Walmart._

 _It took all my effort to get to my feet._

 _My body was fine, I had an easy fight yesterday, a clean kill and no harm done to me. No physical harm._

 _A clean break of the neck._

 _I slowly made my way to the bathroom and looked into the only mirror I had in the loft._

 _My hair still had the other girl's blood in it giving it more of an orange tint to the normal dirty blond._

 _I caught my stormy grey eyes and stared at them._

 _"_ _Pathetic," I whispered._

 _"_ _I'm fucking pathetic." I hissed. My arm lashed out and that mirror shattered as well._

 _I leaned against the wall and relished In the pain that the shards had caused me.  
I picked the glass out and watched the blood poured down._

 _Drip. Drip. Drip._

 _It puddled on the ground._

 _"_ _Ah, I better get ready for class."_

 _I got up and jumped in the shower._

 _"_ _Dad would have wanted me to go."_

At first, I didn't know what woke me up.

I was in a panic.

Something I had never heard before woke me up.

Without thinking I activated my Kekkei Genkai studying the whole house.

"Shh, Satomi." I read from the lips of my father. He was hugging her tight, rocking her back and forth. "It's done, we are no longer in the War."

My heart broke as I watched my mother crying her heart out.

"We are all okay. You, Me and Reika." He continued to say. "You are home, in Kohona, in our house where we raised our daughter."

I shut off my Dojutsu.

My mother would not want me to see her in this moment of weakness.

 _Most come home with wounds that are active between their two ears._

I guess you really are right Ken.

Even my own family is not untouched.

The creaking of the floor boards woke me from my musing. I turned my back to the door as it opened and faked sleep.

A weight settled beside me and a hand curled itself into my hair. Fingers brushed through it.

"My little Genius." I heard my father whisper.

He took his time. Petting my hair. Studying me as I faked my sleep. I was good at it.

"Thank you for being our daughter. You may not realize it but you have saved your mother and me from ourselves."

He kissed my head and left the room, moving not back to his room but towards the kitchen.

Probably for the rest of the night.

-.-

"Thank you for the help this week," Ken'ichi told us standing as straight as he could.

"It was no problem," Kushina replied with a grin. "If you need any more help just let the mission's desk know and we'll take the job.

"What!" Seiichi whined. "But it's so much work!"

"Watch out Seiichi," Tsubasa told him. "If you continue, we will have to change your last name to Nara."

I failed to cover up my snort of laughter and receive a glare from my teammate.

"Oh and Reika!" Ken said as we were about to turn away.

"Yes, Ken?" I asked. He silently held out a scroll, causing me to look at him in question.

"What is it?"

"Its all the books I have on Blacksmithing." He told me. "I'm probably going to be calling on you guys again so read up."

Shit.

I nodded in thanks and placed it in my back pouch.

"Thank you," I told him. "Please take it easy and rest."

He waved us off before retreating back into his workshop.

"What do you say to a team dinner? It is Friday." Kushina said, turning around to look at us. She walked backward, with a grin. "Yup, I like the idea. Let's go eat! Dattebane!"

"Wait, what?" Seiichi said in surprise. "You asked us a question but answered it yourself."

"I'm more concerned about why we are not going to report at the mission's desk right now," Tsubasa answered.

Kushina ignored us, more in favor of skipping in front of us muttering about ramen.

"Forget it you two, This is Kushina-sensei we are talking about," I told them. "Just follow her, we don't want to get on her bad side."

The two boys shuttered.

And that is how I found myself in Ichiraku's for the first out of many times.

"Dig in team! Dattebane!" Kushina grinned.

For all of his complaining, Seiichi was the first of us to attack his bowl. I glanced over at my other teammate to get his opinion. He muttered his thanks and poked at the fast food with his chopsticks.

I looked back down at the steaming bowl.

Ramen.

The last time I ate ramen, was raw in the bags, crushed up with the salty spicy, in the elementary schoolyard with other kids complaining that I will get worms by eating it. I still ate it, it was cheap and good.

"Another bowl Teuchi!"

"Coming up Kushina!"

I took my chopsticks in hand and said my thanks.

I looked over at Tsubasa on my left to see him slowly eating the noodles.

"Is It safe to eat?" I asked. I slurped up the messy food and wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

"It's not poisonous if that is what you are asking." I sent a small glare his way and he covered up his smirk with his high collar of his coat.

Turning back to the bowl I placed my chopsticks inside and picked up some noodles.

I leaned forward and placed the top part of the noodles in my mouth. I took my time chewing, tasting and questioning.

"So? Reika?" I looked over at my teacher.

Seiichi turned to hear my reply, his own mouth empty. But he wasn't able to look at me long.

It didn't take long for him to fall back off the stool and hit the ground, laughing his ass off.

"You!" He flared on the ground, trying to calm himself. "you look like a chipmunk!"

I finished chewing and swallowed.

I flipped him off before turning back to the bowl.

I honestly couldn't care less.

I understand Kushina and Naruto's obsession now.

"Reika?" Tsubasa asked passing his hand in front of my face.

Too bad Minato couldn't have come...

I have been assimilated.

-.-

Hiya I'm back,

Sorry for the late submission. Finals are draining my lifeforce and I only have 4 weeks to do everything.

On another note. Here is another chapter.

So this week's question is... on a scale one to Ramen... How excited are you for Minato to appear?

Thank you all once again for the View, Favorites, Follows and lovely Reviews!

Love you all,  
RavenMocker6

 **Curlystruggle** , On a scale of one to ten how obvious was it for her to get Kushina? I thought I was being sneaky about it... I know I'm skirting around Minato but he should be coming up next chapter.

 **Dark Rose Charm** , I'm glad you love it so much. Reika learning he sexy jutsu? XD. I think that is more Kushina/Seiichi's style than hers.

 **WhiteFang001** , I have a feeling that Kakashi will be good for Sakumo. Reika was a small push while Kakashi will heal.

 **Sazaleli** , Yes, it is for the better of Reika. But it is going to be hell!

 **nacheell** , Kakashi and Minato will happen. Don't you worry, Sakumo is only training him for the moment.

 **Silverlined Phoenix** , I hate when spiders disappear too. Yes, Tsubasa doesn't like spiders. mostly cause spiders hunt bugs...

 **Forever in Oblivion** , Perfect, thank you for the tip, I'll fix it when I get a chance.

 **KathrynthePyro-bitch** , good question... I wonder what will happen. XD Anyway, I like your mind and it's 'weirdness.' What made you think that she would be on the same team as Kakashi and Minato?

 **Animeisheaven** , Thanks! I tried to update as soon as I could.

 **AmsLenah** , Sorry! I'm in University Exams so I'm having trouble finding time to write.

 **FaeGhostReader** , Thanks for the warning. I changed the words with stars, I hope that will be fine. It never occurred to me that it would be a problem.

 **Mavz** , Love you too! Thanks for the complements. Will do.

 **Shubhangi** , Your wish is my command! I may be dead after exams but not before!


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15- Training.

"Eight minutes, forty-three seconds," Kushina stated. "Good job, you are getting better."

I sighed before getting up off the ground.

"Took you long enough," Seiichi growled. I rolled my eyes before going over to my teammates who stood near the trees.

"Alright, team!" Kushina grinned. "Individual training!"

"I would like to work on Genjutsu," Tsubasa said.

"Seiichi!" Kushina said totally ignoring Tsubasa. "What do you want to work on!"

"You totally ignored him," Seiichi said dumbfounded.

"Okay seals!" she ignored him as well. "I'll give you a book on beginning seals."

Seals.

Something inside me slid into place. And I had the sudden urge to grin.

Seals.

I need to learn sealing. This will solve all my problem. It could help Rin, It could help seal up Isobu properly, or even sealing the Kyubbi if needed.

This would work.

It would solve all if not most of the timeline if only there was a master sealer in our age group.

Seals have an unlimited potential. The theory of coding down a sequence which would take chakra and do whatever I wanted with it.

Like Robotics, how you have to code in actions to your robot so that it will do the action.

I could see it now…  
Being able to place a safety seal on the Yonbi so that it would redirect and cancel out the Rin-timebomb. In turn, it would save her life!

But life is never simple.

"I would like to learn sealing too," I said determined with a hint of excitement.

Kushina's face turned grim.

And reality as well as rage set in.

Of course.

"I can't teach you that Reika." She said.

I shoved my hands into my sleeves. And gripped my arms, trying to distract myself so that wouldn't snap.

"I get it," I growled. "You don't need to elaborate."

"Huh?" Seiichi narrowed his eyes.

"Why can't Reika learn sealing?" He asked suspiciously.

"Drop it," I growled.

He recoiled back in surprise that the tone of my voice and I didn't care

My eyes glued itself to the ground, as I concentrated on my nails sinking into my forearms. It's a good thing my kimono top is black, or else red would have already stained the cloth. I refused to look at my bug-user teammate, who had chosen to stay silent.

Of course, my cursed family would not want me to learn sealing. That would go against everything that they believed in.

It would give me an opportunity to break out of the caged bird seal.

"How about something else?" Kushia said, trying to lighten the mood. "We can concentrate on your Kekkei Genkai."

I shook my head.

"I'm going to go for a walk, I'll come up with something then," I told her. I swear I didn't mean to be cold towards her, but I had to get out of there before I blew up.

"Reika.." Tsubasa trailed off.

With that I walked into the forest, ignoring him.

"fucking assholes!" I hissed kicking a branch, watching it land in a bush.

"The single most thing that could save all of their asses is the one thing I'm not allowed to have."

I kicked the nearest tree, infusing my leg with a fraction of my chakra to tense my muscles further. It cracked but did not fall. I wasn't that strong yet.

I inhaled, holding my breath for a number of seconds. Before exhaling both my breath and the stress that had accumulated on my shoulders.

"Now... what to do?" I let my back hit the tree next to the one I hit and slid down it.

Most Hyuga just concentrate on their Kekkei Genkai. They focus on the Byakugan, Taijutsu and the speed.

I need something more.

Something that will set me apart.

Closed my eyes and concentrated on breathing some more. Trying to gain control of the red-hot rage turning over in my gut.

First of all. My best will always be taijutsu and my Kekkei Genkai. That is non-negotiable. I will have the sensory abilities and I will be skilled in hand to hand combat. Even if my Dojutsu did not rely on it, my past life will ensure that I am skilled in that. Speaking of that. I should look into it a bit more. With Kushina as a sensei… I can blame my 'new' style on her. But again, I can't help but guess that my fucking clan will be displeased with that. The Gentle Fist is supposed to be the just that, a reliance on speed, flexibility, and a circular movement. Not on overwhelming people with strength in a common manner. But I do need something to compliment my abilities.

So I have a few options. I can concentrate on strength and or stamina. On weaponry. On Genjutsu. Or I can up my ninjutsu, both my usage and my library.

I sighed.

"Reika-chan?"

I opened my eyes and studied the face of one of the ones want to protect.

Her deep purple eyes like amethysts. Her stubborn chin which hinted at her equally stubborn personality, and that lovely red hair, the color of the setting sky. The color of blood that I will not only aid in protecting but will spill in the meantime.

She sat next to me, and I couldn't help but study the red Uzumaki spiral on her green Jonin vest before the tree covered it.

"I'm not upset at you," I told her, clearing that up. The caution disappeared from her eyes.

"That's good." She sighed. "I just wanted to make sure you knew why I couldn't teach it to you."

"I understand." I bit.

"You know?" She started looking up in the trees. "I almost wasn't your sensei cause of it."

I looked over at her in surprise.

"What? Why?" I asked.

"Because of the chance that I would go behind their back and still teach it to you." She said. "I'm not exactly known for following all the rules."

"My clan is paranoid, Kushina-sensei. If I were to use the sealing techniques to take the seal off they could just put it back on me." I deadpanned. "And, I don't think you should be telling me about how you tend to break the rules."

She blinked a few times, almost in confusion, before she grinned.

"Forget about that." She sassed. I chuckled.

"The Hokage almost had to fight your clan head to allow it," she said. "Me teach you, anyway."

"Really?" I asked. "Why would someone so power fight so hard for something like me?"

"Sakumo-sempai."

"What?"

"Yup!" She grinned. "For some reason, he thought that you would do well on my team so he pushed for it, and The Hokage listens to him."

I knew he had a hand in this.

I hummed, before realizing something.

"You don't hate him?" I asked. "For what Sakumo-Oji did?"

She shook her head.

"War is hell." She said. "And having to go through another scares me."

I watched her hands shake before she gripped them.

"But sacrificing your teammates when there is a foolproof way of everyone getting out is what is the most disgusting thing possible."

"Foolproof way of getting out?" I asked. She nodded.

"They only reason they were caught, is because his teammates took too long. If they would have followed Sakumo's directions and not argued, no one would have known that it was Kohona that mounted the attack."

I let the information settle in.

"I wasn't supposed to know that, right?" I told her.

She held a finger to her lips.

"Shhh," she hushed. "Sempai said you were like a chibi-grown-up. You can keep a secret."

Great. She just told me a secret that could get me punished severely.

I guess she really does tend to break the rules…

Loose lips.  
Ah.

Why not.  
If she can do it and have the village elder's on her ass, I can do it and have my clan elders bitch me out.

"I think I know what I want to learn."

"Really?" she asked. "What is it?"

"When you were testing us, you confirmed that we were a Seek and Capture Team." I reasoned.

She nodded, confirming my theory.

"I said that we were a Tracker, Trapper, Fighter, Seal Master team. So that means that I am the Fighter."

She grinned.

"Yes, Sakumo had told me that you and his son are quite good at fighting for your age."

"So in theory, I need to cover all three of your weaknesses, or at least need to be strong enough to stall until one of you three are free enough to help me," I said. " I need to be able to be all seeing and powerful enough to hold off three to four people so that you three can trap them. I need to become a powerhouse."

She grinned.

"What are you thinking?" she asked, excitement rushing through her voice.

"Two things," I said. "I want to be able to fight with another style of taijutsu as well, I can't rely on the gentle fist and speed for everything. I need strength, stamina and a style that will surprise the hell out of my opponents. Something that they will never think will come from a Hyuga."

"I know a perfect style!" she said jumping up in excitement. "What's the second thing?"

"Ninjutsu," I told her. "I need some long distance techniques too."

"I knew you were going to be my favorite." She grinned.

I got up off the ground and looked at her.

"You think it will work?" I asked her.

"I don't know of any Hyuga who does that." She said clenching her fists. "I like it."

I don't know if I liked that smile or not.

"Go back to the training ground, I'll meet you there in a bit, I just need to go get something."

She didn't even give me a chance to argue and she was already gone, running through the forest towards the village.

"That went smoother then I thought," I said to myself.

I sighed once again looking at my uncalloused knuckles. Well, that is about to change.

I took the first step back towards the field and thought about what I told her.

Another powerhouse.

In most of the fanfiction that I had ever read, all the characters become powerhouses.

It's no wonder though. Just thinking about everything we have to go through to fix this world. I sighed.

"Troublesome."

"It took you long enough!"

I emerge from the forest and stared up at my sensei.

How she got what she needed and back in that amount of time surprised me.

I looked around the clearing, confirming that we are alone.

"Where are Seiichi and Tsubasa."

"I gave Blueberry one of my first Fiunjutsu books given to me by my mother to study, so he's in the library. I have a clone watching him so that he doesn't decide to skip out."

"He's probably nodding off," I told her.

"Yup!" she grinned. "and every time he does it, it another twenty push-ups."

I snickered.

"What about Tsubasa?" I asked.

"He's touching upon his taijutsu with my clone."

Nice knowing you buddy.

"Here!" she said giving me a slip of square paper.

"What's this?" I asked flipping it over. It was a yellowish color and blank.

"Chakra paper." She grinned. "Come on. Try it, I want to know what you are!"

Probably more so then I do. She was rocking back on her heels, excited.

For the millionth time that day I sighed before pouring my chakra into the paper.

Fire will turn flare to life and turn to ash.  
Water will wet the paper.

Earth will turn to dirt.

Lightning will crinkle.

And the wind will split in two.

"That was not what I was expecting…"

I blinked in surprise at the disintegrated paper. And no it didn't burn.

"I have earth," I said, stating the obvious.

"Hmm." Kushina crossed her arms and tapped her lip. "Well, I can tell you that Earth is not my main element, so I can't help you that much in it."

Shit.

"but Water and wind are the two elements that I am the best at, so since the next easiest element for you to use is water. I'll be working with you on this."

"But won't wind hinder my learning more than anything?" I asked.

"That would be Lightning." She told me, but she smiled. "but by the time we go on our first C-rank, I want you to know the basis of forming each element."

"What?" I spat. "Are you crazy? I thought only Jonin work with elements which are not their own specialty!"

"Yup!" she laughed. "It will be hard, but as the hard-hitter, you are the key to it all. Sometimes you will have to act as the decoy so that the enemy will fall into our trap. You have to be able to stay alive and untouched."

I groaned before looking up.

"Do you know anyone that can help me with Earth Jutsus?" I asked.

She hummed.

"I can think of a few people I can pull in a favor from."

"So as for right now, there has to be a jutsu in particular that you want to learn."

"The Shadow clone jutsu."

She blinked.

"That was fast."

I shrugged.

I want the hack!

As soon as I can have more than one of me working on something, the best it will be.

"Alright. I can show you that," she told me.

"Watch closely."

I activated my Byakugan and focused on her hands as they crossed.

Shadow clone jutsu.

Chakra left her body from her feet and reformed next to her in a puff of smoke.

I watched as the smoke cleared and a second Kushina appeared.

"The jutsu didn't even make a dent in your reserves!" I said surprised.

My red-haired teacher laughed and scratched the back of her head.

"Yeah, I have large reserves." She grinned.

I think large is an understatement.

"Now you try." She said. "It's similar to the clone jutsu but you are using a lot more chakra to create a full body form with a real network of chakra instead of just an outline image."

I nodded before I crossed my first two fingers on each hand.

Shadow clone jutsu.

I looked over to my left, only to see just smoke.

"You didn't use enough chakra." She id, before she sat down on the ground.

"This is going to take at least a week of work so I'm going to be here working on my chakra control." She said before closing her eyes. "Let me know if you have a question, Rei-chan."

"Rei?" I asked

"Yes. I think I'm going with this for now." She said before zoning out.

I sighed, disappointed that I didn't dodge her naming skills.

Shadow clone jutsu.

Again, just smoke appeared.

Okay, more chakra.

This I swear. When it comes to training, I'm a Gai/Lee. I will practice until I drop and get it as soon as I can.

I think I will get this down by Monday morning.

-.-

"Good morning," I said as I rubbed my eyes.

"Doesn't someone look tired." My mother sassed. I rolled my eyes and sleeply moved towards the kitchen table. I sat in my spot and place my head on my arms.

"So how were your first two weeks of real Shinobi work?" my mother asked me from the stove.

"Heww," I muttered.

"Speak clearly Reika." My father scolded from the kitchen doorway. I turned my head and looked at him. He was in full Anbu gear with only his mask hanging off the side of his head.

It was odd, I hadn't seen him in about three days. This was actually the first morning all three of us were in the house together in over a week and a half other than for sleeping.

"Hell," I said again.

My mother started to laugh.

"That's Kushina for you."

"And why are you up so early?" my father asked stealing a piece of toast my mother had placed on the table. "It is your day off."

"I have training with a friend at 9:00."

"A friend we know?" My mother asked.

I caught her eye.

"Yes."

"Make sure you are not followed." My father said, but they didn't scold me. They wouldn't be able to stop me even if they tried.

I shrugged.

"Where I'm going, not many people will follow me."

My parents looked at me in question.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing!" I said coving myself up.

My parents let it go with a shake of their heads.

"So what have you learned?" my father asked moving to the sink to do the dishes that my mother dirtied with breakfast.

"Well, other then blacksmithing from Ken'ichi-san, Kushina has been putting us in scenarios of capturing each other," I told them. "I was first and ended up capturing them before the half of the time limit even expired."

"That's my little genius." My father called.

"Otou-san!" I groaned. "That nickname is embarrassing."

He laughed before wiping his hands on the dishtowel.

"Seiichi went next during the blacksmith mission," I told them recounting the event as we sat down to eat.

My mother was the first to break into a fit of laughter.

"Pitfalls?" my father asked me, his chopsticks stopped inches from his mouth.

"Yes," I complained. "He got Tsubasa."

"Were you able to capture him?"

I shook my head.

"We were only able to get to him due to his planning," I told them. "He was able to evade us."

My mother laughed.

"Let it be a lesson." My father chuckled, finishing his breakfast. "Don't ever let a trapper, prepare."

He got up and kissed the top of my head.

"Have a good day, My daughter."

I smiled up at him.

"Be safe Otou-san." I wished.

"I will."

My mother rose as well, going to the door to wish her husband off.

I ignored the kissing sound and muttering from the door and finished my breakfast.

I was cleaning off the table before my mother came back into the room.

"What time are you going to be home at?" she asked me.

I shrugged, putting the last of the dishes in the sink.

"Probably before supper," I told her.

She nodded.

"Good," she said shooing me away from the dishes. "Go train, but be back before six."

"What is happening at Six?" I asked from the doorway.

"Training, I'm going to be teaching you the next step to the Eight Trigrams form."

I blinked at her.

"Already? You taught me the eight palms, only a few weeks ago," I told her. "Now we are starting on the 16 palms?"

"War is coming, my daughter." She said, her back towards me. "You Will be ready."

I couldn't help but notice how she stressed the 'Will.'

"Yes, Okaa-san."

-.-

"I Think this is the place," I muttered as I reached the fenced-in area. I walked around the fence going from locked gate to locked gate trying to find the right one.

"Reika!" I looked up at the fence to see Sakumo standing ontop it.

"Hello, Sakumo-Oji-chan," I called, jumping up onto the fence with him.

"Was wondering if you forgot about us." He said, Patting my head. "You were not here last week."

I sighed.

"Kushina-sensei got us a week-long D-rank, in our first week together," I told him. "So I was not able to come."

I looked at the dense forest from the top of the fence and felt my skin start to prickle.

"Where is Kakashi?" I asked him.

"Still sleeping." He told me. "I wanted to clear a few things up with you before we headed in."

He jumped down from the fence inside the training ground and I followed him.

"this place is quite dangerous, so you have to follow my rules and my lead." He said. I nodded in understanding.

"Second, if any animal pops up, you are to wait for my instruction before jumping into action."

We started to walk into the forest, taking the ground route.

"Last but not least, we are sharing this training ground with a few other chunin and Jonin, so keep on your guard, and if you come across anyone, make yourself aware, and say you are with me, don't try to hide it. Genin are not usually allowed to be in here unless it is the chunin exams. Most of the shinobi who visit here are very dangerous, but trustworthy people."

"I understand," I say as I looked around.

I activated my Byakugan to study the forest better.

"this place is amazing." I told my self-proclaimed uncle. "there are so many different species of animals in the forest."

"This is why we train in here, it is because it is such a dangerous but amazing place."

We reached the campsite a few minutes later to see Kakashi busying himself, talking with a shadow clone of his father.

He sensed us when we got into range and his mask pinched in excitement.

"Reika!" he cried, placing his bowl of soup down and running towards me.

"Good morning Kakashi," I said. He stopped in front of me, almost crashing into me.

"You didn't come last week." He immediately scolded.

"Yes, sorry," I said scratching the back of my head. "My team was assigned a week-long mission."

"Leave a note next time."

Pushy little brat.

"Hai, Hai." I sassed. Kakashi didn't think it was funny.

" Come and sit down, you two can catch up while you finished your food, Kashi," Sakumo said, sitting down and dismissing his shadow clone.

"Yes, Tou-san."

We walked back over to the logs, and Kakashi pulled down his mask to eat and talk.

He recounted his time spent training with his father.

"I learned how to water walk." He told me. "But I'm still having a bit of trouble sparing on it."

"Kushina-sensei taught me that as well." I replied. "but she kept trying to scare me and make me lose my concentration."

I didn't tell him that I had already mastered it.

Sakumo laughed.

"Yes, she tends to do that." He grinned. "But it's a good way to make it natural, and to improve your control."

"That's why you keep pushing me into the river when we are near isn't it?" Kakashi growled.

Sakumo's smirk only widened before he raised a cup of tea to his lips.

But stayed silent.

I laughed at Kakashi's expense before he tackled me to the ground.

Just like we never parted, we wrestled, trying the gain the upper hand.

"Watch out for the fire you two," Sakumo stated watching us go at it. I slipped out from under my best friend and flipped him over, pinning him to the ground.

"One, two, three." I counted. "I win."

"You suck." He called as I got up. I gripped his hand and helped him up too.

"Yeah, Yeah," I teased. "Love you too."

"So what else had Kushina been teaching you?" Sakumo asked after we calmed down.

"I had my first individual lesson yesterday," I told them.

"What have you decided to work on?" Kakashi asked moving over to the stream and rinsing out his bowl.

"Ninjutsu," I replied.

Sakumo started to cough, choking on his tea.

"The everyday stuff?" he asked, clearing his throat.

"For now, Kushina-sensei already tested my element affinity, so that's the next thing," I told him.

"Tou-san," Kakashi asked. "Can I start on elemental training too?"

Sakumo scratched his head in thought.

"How about we wait until after you have the base for Kenjutsu down?"

The skin on the back of my neck prickled and I barely had time to turn before I was attacked by my favorite dog.

"BULL!" I cried as the dog drapped himself on me, licking my face. "Your breath stinks."

Sakumo and Kakashi laughed at my situation.

"Ah, Hello Reika-chan."

I looked over at the log that Sakumo was sitting on to see the small pug sitting beside him.

"Hi, Pakun." I groaned.

Bull whined and I turned my attention back to the big baby.

"Yes, yes," I said sitting up and scratching his ears.

He whined in content and laid across my legs.

"I'm surprised you chose Ninjutsu," Sakumo said once the dogs took their positions. "Not many Hyuga clan members chose to dabble in it. They usually have their hands full with their clan jutsus."

I nodded in agreement.

"I know. That's why I chose to be different." I reasoned. "This way I have a surprise tactic in case I need it."

"That's smart," Kakashi said moving over to scratch Pakun so he didn't feel left out.

"Which element did you get?" Sakumo asked.

"What do you think I got?" I asked genuinely curious.

"Wind," Kakashi said.

"Why wind?" I asked. He shrugged.

"Sounds cool."

I shook my head. Typical boy.

"Fire." Sakumo guessed. "That is the most common type in Kohona, it is also the closest to your personality. A burning flame, but can easily become a raging forest fire when needed."

"I wish, that actually sounds pretty awesome," I answered. "But I'm earth."

Sakumo blinked in surprise.

"Really?" he said. "That I would have never guessed."

"Kushina-sensei was surprised as well," I told him.

"Have you learned any jutsu yet?" Kakashi asked. Eager to learn more.

I shook my head.

"Kushina-sensei is a water and wind user, so I'm concentrating on the shadow clone jutsu for the moment."

"The shadow clone jutsu?" Sakumo sighed, holding his head in his hands.

"That woman is going to be the death of us."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Ah, wait… the shadow clone jutsu is a kenjutsu.

"The shadow clone jutsu if forbidden for Genin to learn." He said.

"What? Reika is already learning a forbidden jutsu?" Kakashi groaned. "That is not fair!"

"It is only forbidden for Genin due to the amount of chakra it takes to make one." He answered. "Its enough to cause extreme chakra exhaustion."

"Really?" I asked.

Shit! There goes that idea.

"Yes." He stopped and looked over at me, obviously mauling over an idea.

"Then I should stop, right?" I asked him.

Frustration ran through me.

"No." he shook his head. "You should be fine to perform it. You have always had a lot of chakra so it will affect you less. I guess that is why Kushina thought it was a good idea to teach it to you."

I released the breath I was holding. Good, I would hate to have to try it with supervision all the time.

"What about me?" Kakashi asked. "do I have enough chakra?"

His father shook his head.

"Not yet." He said. "But don't feel left out, it just means that you can control your chakra better than those with more."

I felt guilty, talking about my accomplishments when it almost seems as if I was surpassing Kakashi.

Kakashi sighed before looking over at me.

"Do you want to spar?" he asked.

I grinned.

"Is that really a question."

I didn't have another chance before a kick was sent my way.

Cheater

And I take back to comment about surpassing Kakashi, his kenjutsu techniques are wicked and hurt like a bitch.

-.-

"Okaa-san?" I called, walking into the house.

"On the porch!" she called. I maneuvered myself through the house, reaching the back. She was laying on the wood, a plate of vegetables and a cup of tea next to her. A book was in her other hand.

I sat down next to her and looked over her shoulder.

It was a fiction novel.

"Is it interesting?" I asked trying to read the rest of the paragraph to get a gist of the storyline. My mother closed the book.

"Yes, it's a love story about a shinobi and a civilian."

The face I made caused her to laugh.

"Alright my daughter, remove your pouches." She said sitting up.

I did what I was told, and removed my medical, and weapon pouch.

"Do you remember what I told you about the eight trigrams 132 palms?" she asked me as we moved into our backyard.

I nodded before moving the open clearing.

"There are six stages to mastering it. the first two are the gentle fist movements and using it to do four consecutive movements. The jutsu starts after this and has five levels to it. The basic, which is the eight palms, the Apprentice is the is the sixteen palms, thirty-two palms is intermediate. Advanced is sixty-four, and mastery is a hundred and twenty-eight palms." I told her.

She nodded.

"What about the range?"

"There is a range of two feet per level. The Eight palms have to be done from the first step, the second from the next two, the 32 palms within four feet, the 64 within six and the complete jutsu will be completed in eight feet."

"And the condition?"

"The target needs to be within the initial range."

She nodded before creating a shadow clone.

"Eight palms." She instructed as it walked into my range.

"Yes, Sensei," I replied getting into position and activating my Byakugan.

My feet were a shoulder's length appear. My right foot back, toes facing forward, and the left foot in front, perpendicular to the other. My right hand was back, hidden by my turned body with my left hand out, palm facing my mother.

I switched my feet position and held out both palms. Before extending my right hand out back, leaning forward and keeping my arms in a diagonal line.

"Eight trigrams, Eight palms."

"Two Palms" I growled, using my index fingers to shut off the main tenketsu which controls the direct and main passageway for chakra to get the head and the other pathway that shuts off one of the three tenketsu to the right leg.

"Four palms!" I shut the outermost tenketsu on the rightmost lower rib, before shutting off the left one as well.

"eight palms" the first hit was to the center of the chakra center, as was the second. With both hands, I made the last two hit simultaneously shutting off two more tenketsu right next to the chakra center.

My mother's shadow clone flew back, obviously not trying to fight it and dispelled into smoke.

"Good, you just need to work on the speed, now." She said. "To be very effective, get it to under five seconds."

She moved forward and stood next to me.  
"For the next eight palms, you have to use more chakra." She said. "Each hit has to be more powerful than all the last, all hitting in the center core of the body, right where chakra is generated."

"It's to make sure they do not get accustomed to the pain right?" I asked.

"Somewhat." She said. "the larger to combo, the longer it takes. You don't want them to get the chance to slip away."

"Stamina is also important." She stated. "The longer the combo, the more you have to do and move, by hitting harder, and sending out more chakra you are forcing your body to continue."

"Yes, Sense," I told her. She stood beside me.

"Now I want you to hit out with gradually more chakra." She said. "I will tell you when to stop."

I pushed out a bit more chakra than a regular hit from my pores towards the open air.

"More."

I used a tad bit more, the same amount as I would use to create a henge.

"More."

"Hai!"

"More."

"Hai!"

"More."

Fuck going gradually.

I removed my control and just hit out with a quarter of my chakra.

"Too much."

"Really?" I groaned.

"Focus, Reika."

I gained control of my frustration. And put it towards my work.

"A little less."

I hit again and again before whipping the sweat from my brow.

"You almost have it Reika." She encouraged.

The amount for a clone is too little, but enough for a replacement is too much. I regulated by chakra accordingly and struck the air.

"Perfect." She said with a nod.

I controlled my breathing and looked over at my mother for the next step.

"Start in the air, and go slow." She said. "Now, from the first step of the eight palm, then add another eight of that strength At the end.

I nodded before moving out of range from my mother.

I moved into position, before starting, striking out with chakra at every turn.

Throat, pelvis, right rib, left rib, four strikes to the chakra center. I turned, positioning my feet in opposite directions and hit from the left side next. Taking a step into my strikes. The next eight strikes were a disappointment for me.

They were weak and my footwork was hesitant.

"not bad." My mother stated, her arms crossed. "Good for a first try. Again."

I exhaled my exhaustion from my full day of training and now this and repositioned myself.

Eight trigrams, sixteen palms.

My strikes were more powerful but my footwork sucked.

"Again."

We did this for the next two hours.

"Enough." She stated and I collapsed onto the ground a pile of sweaty and stinky mess.

"My footwork is a disappointment." I groaned.

"You'll get better with time." She said kneeling down next to me. She ran her hands through my wet brown hair, pulling back my bangs.

They fell back into my eyes and I blew them away.

My mother chuckled before getting up.

"Stay there I'll get a kunai and I'll cut it," she said. I hummed and collapse on to my back to look at the stars.

"It's pretty," I said.

"What is?" she asked coming back. I pointed up to the sky, where bright lights littered the sky and a white dotted line separated part of it.

So that is the milky way.

It was the first time I ever saw it.

"It is, now get up."

I groaned before doing as asked.

I closed my eyes as she pulled my bangs over my eyes. A clean slice finished the job and looked at my mother.

She was smiling at me.

"I'm very proud of you, Reika." She told me.

"Thank you Okaa-san."

She kissed my forehead.  
"Now go take a shower."

-.-

That morning started at 5:00 am, and by the time Kushina arrived at 6:45. She was in for a surprise.

"Shit," I growled as my complete copy exploded.

"Wow."

I jumped, weaving around to growl at my teacher.

"Kushina-sensei!" I growled. I hated being surprised.

She didn't even laugh like usual.

"You almost have it down." She told me.

Was still disappointed. Canon Naruto had gotten the hang of it before I had.  
It took me three days to get it to this stage and I was only at one clone. But to be fair, I think I only practiced it for a total of 7 hours. That being said, it is kind of impressive…. I guess.

"I don't know what, I'm doing wrong." I confound in her. "It lasts for three minutes then it dispels."

"From what I can tell, you have the interior of the shadow clone set." She said. "You just have to solidify the exterior."

"Solidify?" I asked.

She nodded.

"Your chakra is just leaking out without a container." She said. "Make it more condensed around the edges."

I positioned my fingers in a cross.

Shadow clone jutsu.

My chakra formed the interior and condensed around it.

"Yes?" My copy asked me.

I blinked and activated my Byakugan.

It looked exactly like a regular person. It was an exact copy of me.

And no chakra was leaking out.

"Good job!" Kushina grinned, slapping me on the back.

I hissed on the impact before sending her a glare.

One clone took an Eight of my chakra.  
that is a lot of chakra. But granted I was only seven, my reserves will grow.

"Hello Tsubasa," I said sensing his chakra reach us.

"Hello Reika, Kuchina-sensei." He said. I could almost feel the cloud hanging over his head.

"What is the matter, Glasses?" Kushina asked.

"I'm still sore." He groaned.

That's true, he was working on taijutsu with Kushina.

I bit the inside of my cheek, to not laugh.

"Ha, ha." Seiichi grinned, landing next to me.

"It's not funny," Tsubasa complained.

"Maybe a bit." I couldn't help but say.

"I hate you."

I smirked and our attention was pulled to our teacher with a clap.

"Alright let's talk stamina training!" she called. I ignored Tsubasa's groan.

"First thing is first, Blueberry!" she said. "Drop down and give me 100 pushups."

"What? Why?" he cried in protest.

I snickered.

"Well, you nodded off five times on Saturday." She grinned. "each nod means twenty pushups."

I hid my smile behind my kimono sleeve.

"In the meantime, Glasses, Reika." She said. "I want you to run to the village gates and back thirty times, no stopping and full speed!"

"Yes sensei," I said before taking off, without complaining.

If I complain, it gives her an opportunity to give me more.

"Haha." I heard Seiichi laugh again.

"Come on Blueberry, you have to do those 30 too!"

"You suck."

I grinned in triumph and looked over at my partner and His own smile poked out of his high collar.

"Sucks to be him," he whispered.

I couldn't agree more.

-.-

Please don't kill me...

I genuinely have a good reason for missing the past few updates. Exam, Work, and Flu. That sums it up nicely. I'm sorry for taking so long, but I am only getting better now.

I hope you enjoyed it, this chapter is especially long.

Here we find Reika deciding what kind of fighter she is to become. I'm also sorry for not having Minato in this chapter. I cut it off until the next chapter due to how the chapter fell. Sorry!  
The question for this chapter is what do you think of Reika being a ninjutsu powerhouse? Earth-based on top of that?

Thank you for your views, follows, favorites and lovely reviews.

Until next time,

RavenMocker6.

 **Dark Rose Charm** , I'm sorry for somewhat crushing the idea of her dealing with seals. Her clan would never allow it.

 **Lizyeh2000** , You are very welcome. I love giving characters backstory, it always hints at future events.

 **Tick Tock Follow the Clock** , Please stick around for the next chapter then...

 **Curleystruggle** , Next chapter. I swear!

 **Silverlined Pheonix** , So true! Ramen! And I swear he is coming!

 **Guest** , ALL HAIL THE RAMEN KING!

 **AmsLenah** , Thank you! I actually have an incomplete grade for one of my classes and am trying to find the motivation to write it...


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16- Turning Seven.

"Oww." Obito cried as Rin placed a bandage on his cheek. "That hurts, Rin-chan."

"Then you should have dodged the kunai, next time!" Rin scolded.

I snickered, with my back to a tree in a little training area.

"You are lucky that I wasn't throwing to seriously harm you." I teased.

"Yeah, yeah." Obito had his hands holding his ankles, legs crossed. He was definitely pouting.

I stretched out my arms and winced at the soreness in my shoulders.

Kushina is ruthless. I wonder if Gai had the chance to train with her. He would love her and her training, I'm sure.

"But you are getting better," I told the Uchiha.

Any onlooker would have seen the bruises and cuts that littered Obito, and automatically assume that I had demolished him in our fight.

I shifted stretching up, and my ribs protested.

But that kid had a mean roundhouse.

"You bet I am!" he grinned. "I swear I'm going to beat Ba-Kashi next time we spar!"

"Speaking of beating Kakashi." Rin turned towards me, her head turned slightly.

"Who wins in your spars?" she asks. "You two have been training together for a long time, right."

I scratched my chin.

"It's mostly a tie," I said honestly. "Why do you want to know?"

"No reason." Red tinted her cheeks and I frowned.

That will not do. Obito and Rin are destined for each other.

"You are being modest!" Obito grinned at me, totally stealing my attention. "You beat him most of the time."

I shrugged.

"Sometimes."

"Reika!" he whined. "Never let that jerk win!"

I laughed before getting up to perform more stretches.

"How long do you have left in the academy anyway?" I asked them, changing the subject.

Rin recovered first and answered me.

"About a year."

Obito groaned and followed my example.

"That is still quite a bit of time," I told them. "Enjoy it."

"As if!" the black-haired boy said. "I can't wait for some real missions!"

I snorted in laughter.

"All right, sunshine." I teased. "I bet you can't wait for the poop cleaning, and the fence painting, the babysitting and the cat finding."

"Real missions!" He groaned. "I mean real missions."

I saw the moment when my nickname clinked with him, and his eyes lit up.

"Wait what did you call me?!"

Rin giggled beside us but I ignored his comment.

"We have to start somewhere, Obito!" she grinned.

"But they are boring!" His attention flopped again.

it was too easy to distract him.

I rolled my eyes before a loud growl interrupted us.

Obito blinked behind his grey goggles and looked over at me. almost on point, we simultaneously turned to a blushing Rin.

"Sorry, I skipped lunch." She said. "I go from the academy to the hospital every Tuesday, so I don't usually eat."

"Shame on you," I growled. "As a med-nin, your health should always be in top shape in case of anything."

"Yeah, Rin!" Obito said his hands on his hips. "That's not good for you."

I sighed and did the math.

"Alright," I told them. "Let's go eat."

Rin blushed some more and scratched her head.

"I would but I don't have any money. I'm using it for tutoring in medical ninjutsu." She said, Her hazel eyes looked down in disappointment. "Academy students are not trained in med-ninjutsu unless they can pay."

"Hush, and come on," I told them walking away. "It's my treat."

"Really!" Obito jumped at me, enclosing me in a hug. I returned it trying not to let a grin show. "Thank you!"

"Are you sure, Reika?" Rin asked, timidly. "I don't want to force you."

"Just accept," I told her. "After all it is your birthday in a week. It's your present."

"What!" Obito cried. His arms froze around me, but I wasn't complaining, he was warm. "It's your birthday next week."

"You didn't know?" I told him. "Rin's birthday is the 15th of November."

He let go and scratched the back of his head.

"I knew that."

I walked away with a shake of the head.

"Right, Sunshine."

"Reika!" Obito whined.

"Thank you, Reika." She said, another blush on her cheeks, but this one not of embarrassment but of happiness. "I didn't know you knew it."

We walked out of the training area and made our way to the restaurant district.

"I know all of ours," I indicated. "Now that I have money from my missions, I will be able to celebrate with you guys."

"Even mine?" Obito said with a grin, his black eyes shining and pointing to himself.

"February 10th," I told him almost immediately.

Rin clapped.

"What about Kakashi's?" she asked.

Of course she would want to know that.

"September 15th."

I moved straight towards the stand of my newest addiction, Rin and Obito followed, as if Rin would care where we went anyway.

"Ah!" Rin said, her voice an octave higher. "Kakashi and I have the same day but different months."

"Yes, you are older by nine months," I told her. "Obito and I also have the same day. But once again a different month."

"Hello, Tsuchi-san!" I called as we walked into the ramen shop.

"Welcome!" He said turning around. His eyes lit up when they recognized me. "If it isn't Kushina's student!"

We hopped onto the bar stools and grabbed the menus from his hands.

"It's Reika-chan, right?' he said. My eyebrow twitched in annoyance and my two friends laughed to themselves. They know I don't like being called that.

"Yes, sir," I told him. "These are my friends, Obito Uchiha and Rin Nohara."

"It is a pleasure to meet you!" The man said with a grin. He was obviously younger than in the anime, but he was just as sweet.

I ignored the chatter between him and my friends in favor of looking over the menu. I wanted to try a new one.

"Are you ready to order kids?" he asked.

"Yes!" Rin grinned. "I'll have the BBQ pork Ramen, please."

"I want that one too!" Obito grinned from beside her.

"I would like to try the Leek Ramen, please," I informed the man.

"Alright! Coming right up!" he said, picking up a wire strainer and placing noodles inside.

I placed the menus ontop the raised edge of the counter before looking back over at my friends.

"So it isn't right that you know our birthday, but we don't know yours," Rin stated.

I shrugged.

"It's on November 10th."

My two friends deadpanned.

"That's in two days…" Obito said.

"Huh, I guess it is." I hummed.

"And you didn't tell us!" Rin exclaimed.

"I didn't think it was important," I told her, holding up my hands in surrender.

"Hypocrite," Obito said sticking his tongue out at me. "You make sure to know our birthdays but you don't pull any attention to your own!"

"I forgot!" I said holding up my hands innocently. I was turning seven and have the world and your lives on my shoulder. I'm sorry I forgot to tell you my birthday. Now, Shut up.

"What did you forget?"

I caught my breath but was finally able to resist jumping for the first time in four weeks.

"Kushina-sensei," I growled.

My red-haired, ramen loving teacher grinned before looking over at my friends.

"Hello you two," she said looking at them. "My name is Kushina, I'm Rei-chan's sensei. What are your names?"

She took the open seat to my left.

"My name is Rin, No-Nohara." My female said, studdering lightly. "It is very nice to meet you Kushina-san."

"And my name is Obito, Uchiha!" The loud-mouthed boy grinned, showing off that one-of-a-kind smile.

"They are my friends from the academy," I told her.

"You're forgetting the 'before' in there Reika!" Obito called, waving his hands in the air. "I still remember you scaring us with your bloody knuckles! I was sure you were going to die!"

"She wasn't going to die, Obito!" Rin corrected.

"We didn't know that!"

Kushina laughed at their attics and I smiled in memory, a lot has happened since then.

Anxiety settled in my gut.

And so much more is to come.

"Anyway," Kushina said, changing the subject. "What is it that Rei-chan forgot to tell you?"

Of course, she'd be interested in that.

"Her birthday is in two days!" Reika replied.

"Really!" Kushina grinned, she tapped her chin as if she was thinking. "That's true! My little genin is going to be seven! Dattebane!"

"Sorry I'm late, Kushina!"

I blinked and slowly turned my head over to the entrance.

"Took you long enough!" She complained. "Were you caught up in your sealing again?!"

I swallowed the lump in my throat.

"Hahaha," he laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head. "Perhaps?"

Sealing?

Thump

Blond shaggy hair.

Thump.

Sapphire blue eyes.

Thump

Blue jumpsuit

Thump

Jonin vest on top

Thump.

"Rei-chan?"

Is that…

"Hello?"

I blinked.

"Ah!" The newcomer said. "Please, forgive me, I haven't introduced myself."

He's talking to me.

"My name is Minato Namikaze," he said extending his hand. "I've heard a lot about you Reika-chan, it's a pleasure to finally meet you!"

He said my name.

...

And I have yet to answer…

"Ah." I tried not to sound lame and met his hand with mine.

I'm shaking his hand…

"Likewise." I finally said. "It's nice to put a face the name."

He smiled and my heart soared.

I think this is the best birthday present anyone could have ever asked for.

Minato Fucking Namikaze is fucking smiling at me.

Only great things come over ramen.

"Here you are you three!" Tsuchi-san called placing our bowls in front of us.

"Oh Minato!" he grinned, finally noticing the future Hokage. "Nice to see you!"

"Hello, Tsuchi-san!" The blond-haired powerhouse smiled. He lifted his hand in a greeting.

"So you were distracted by sealing!" Kushina accused grabbing his hand. "There are ink marks all over your hand! Dattebane!"

And it was true. It covered his first two fingers and his thumb.

I opened my chopsticks muttered a thank you and dug in.

Warm broth and noodles assaulted my tongue.

"The usual?" the ramen-shop owner called to the newcomers.

"But of course." Kushina grinned, chopsticks already in hand.

"Reika?" I ignored the voice from beside me.

"Don't even try, Obito-kun." Kushina laughed. "Rei-chan doesn't respond to anyone while she's eating ramen."

"No one?" Rin asked.

Chopsticks came into my immediate vision and I moved my bowl away.

Another mouthful scooped into my mouth and I almost groaned in pleasure.

"Rei…?"

I have ramen, and I have met Minato Fucking Namikaze…

I only need to meet a chibi Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki and I can die in peace.

-.-

"Happy Birthday!" my mother said as I walked out of my room. I blinked I came face to face with blue wrapping paper. The gift was pushed into my hands and my father chuckled from the porch.

"Let her sit down and eat first, Satomi." He scolded in amusement. I watched as red dusted her cheeks.

I accepted the package and looked it over as I walked to my spot at the table.

I placed the package next to me. it was thin and flimsy, like a package of papers.

I was really curious now.

And I bet I could see through the paper with my doujutsu.

"Don't even think about it, my daughter," I swear I did not pout as Otou-san kissed my forehead and walked away. "Breakfast first."

I sighed before reaching up for my plate.

"Thank you for the meal."

I ate and pretended to not notice my mother looking at me with a big grin.

"She has your curiosity that is for sure." My father commented.

"I guess she does."

"She is also right here," I told them. They laughed.

The sudden clinking of nails on the floor was my only indication of the new presence. And I was soon tackled off my seat by a huge-ass dog.

A huge-ass dog I knew, that is for sure.

"Bull," my father groaned. "I said after breakfast."

My mother laughed and I laid defeated under 140 pounds of the Bulldog who was actually probably a Mastiff, or a Pitbull-mix by the size. The dog whined and licked my cheek, his whole butt wagging because he lacked a tail. I reached up and scratched his ear.

"Are Kakashi and Oji-chan here?" I asked him. He whined sadly. I smiled and moved my hand down to scratch his lower ribs. He howled and his foot started to move as I got the itchy spot. I laughed as the dog rolled off of me, clearly loving the attention.

For the first time, I took a look at him and saw a little package on his collar.

"Whats this?" I asked the dog.

"After breakfast!" my father reminded. I rolled my eyes but did what he asked.

I picked up my chair and once again began to eat.

"My little girl is getting so big." My mother commented as I finished helping with the dishes.

"Please don't start crying" I pleaded wiping the last of the dishes. My father snorted in laughter from the table and she sent him a glare.

I ducked away from her hand that was about to catch my head and got to the big baby who had whined all of breakfast.

"Yes, yes," I told him as I unhooked the package that was attached to his collar. I placed it on my lap and scratched his ears lovingly.

He groaned and leaned more into my touch.

"I honestly never thought I would see the day in which you would willingly touch a dog." My father told me. "You sure have grown."

I looked over at him to see a faint smile on his lips.

"I still remember you crying your eyes out in my arms terrified at first glance of them."

I tried not to flinch.

"I don't know why I was ever afraid of this big baby." I lied.

Bull licked my face and I glared at him.

"You can open the present now, Reika." My mother laughed as she sat next to my father.

Without further prompting, I did just that and a pair of gloves revealed themselves. A note was written on a scrap piece of paper also fell out and I grabbed that first.

"Happy birthday Reika. Dad and I saw these the other day when we went into the village and thought they might be of use to you. They are chakra enhancing. We miss you lots, see you on Sunday. That is, if you don't ditch us."

That was only once. I only ditched them once. I shook my head in amusement and put on the gloves.

"Chakra enhancing?" My mother asked curiously. My father got up from his chair and came to sit next to me on the floor. Their present was in his hand.

"That's what they told me," I answered. My father took my hands in his and channeled chakra into them. We both activated out Kekkai Genkai and watched as it didn't do anything.

"It's not doing anything?" I questioned.

"You try," He instructed.

Almost immediately the amount of chakra I had put in doubled in density.

"A very well made gift." My father grinned.

"Protected from outside factors?" My mother asked.

His grin answered it all.

"So if I am wearing it, only I have the power to use it. Nobody who gets ahold of my hands can use the enhancing quality against me."

"Unless they get ahold of your gloves anyway. They haven't been permanently fixed to your chakra."

I wonder if I could get Kushina-sensei to help me with that?

I almost snorted out loud. Probably not, it uses seals.

I'm sure the fucking clan head will take it as me challenging their rules and punish me for it.

"Here open ours now." My father said, changing my thoughts.

I blinked past my dark thoughts and accepted the package once again.

My mother joined us on the ground and clenched her hands together, a grin on her face.

I opened the paper to find exactly what I expected. It was a package of papers neatly stapled together.

I looked up at my parents and they grinned.

My next glance told me why.

"We had to go through quite a lot of people to find all these." My mother said.

"Elemental Bullet series." I read out loud.

I opened the first page and right in front of me was the total theory of application of the Mud Bullet Jutsu.

I flipped to the next page was Water Bullet, followed by Flame Bullet.

All five jutus were there and written in my father's handwriting.

"We talked to a bunch of our comrades in Anbu and had them write down how to perform each jutsu." My father said.

"We know that you will not be able to perform they all right now, after all they are C or B rank jutsu."

I turned to my mother, happiness bubbling inside me.

"But with Kushina as a Sensei, you will learn they all one day. After all, she starts you on Nature Transformation theory this Saturday right? Application of these techniques will come soon. After that, you will be on your way to becoming a master of the elements"

I threw myself at both of them.

"Thank you," I said pulling them close.

My father chuckled awkwardly hugging us in a three-way again.

"It's a little something for our precious little one." My mother said, kissing my cheek. "Just to show that we care and to thank you for being our daughter."

Apparently Bull thought he was missing out on something and came close to lick all three of our cheeks.

"BULL!" I cried, my face full of slobber.

-.-

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" I did not squeal as Kushina appeared from behind me raising me in the air from behind.

"Kushina-sensei!" I growled. "I could have hurt you!"

She let me down and looked down at me.

"You could have tried." She smiled smugly. I glared before a little booklet appeared in front of me.

"What's this?" I asked taking it from her.

"A present from Minato and I." she smiled. I looked back down and the warm feeling in my gut resurfaced.

I took them and looked at it.

"Are these Ichiraku coupons?" I asked.

"But of course!" Kushina grinned. "Ten free visits on us!"

"Thank you!" I grinned.

I can't wait, those noodles will be on my stomach very soon….

"I thought the plan was to give you our gifts after training," Tsubasa said.

"Oops." Kushina laughed, scratching her head. "I forgot."

Seiichi sighed, slapping his forehead with his hand.

Typical sensei.

"Careful," I teased the Blueberry. "We don't need you lose more brain cells."

"Shut up." He growled. "Or I will take away your gift."

I stuck out my tongue childishly and he lifted his finger.

"Children!" she clapped. "Let us go get a mission!"

"We can't leave yet," Tsubasa growled again. "We have yet to give Reika, her presents."

"Alright, Meet me the mission's desk." She said. "I'm giving you twenty minutes before you will have to do push-ups." She disappeared soon after.

"I Hate her." The Aburame growled for the third time.

"Don't we all!" Seiichi laughed.

"I think she's a pretty good teacher," I told them honestly.

"You are crazy."

The friendly beetle flies out of his sleeve and landed on my hand. I watched his little legs wave.

"Is he wishing me a Happy Birthday too?" I asked, chuckling.

"Seems like it," Seiichi said leaning in to watch the little bug. He was kind of cute.

"Here," Tsubasa said, handing me a package.

I watched the beetle take off and land on my shoulder before opening it.

"A new kunai set," I asked surprised.

There were 20 thin blades, with white rope on the handles for grip. It came with the regular black case, but it looked larger than they usually are.

"Yes, I noticed that yours were wearing down." I pushed up his glasses. "Why? Because they did not sink into the trunk as deep as they normally do. This one had a traveling sharpener and oil bottle on the side of the pouch."

I tested one of the blades on my hair and it sliced beautifully.

"Thank you very Much, Tsubasa," I said. I moved the package into one hand and held out the other for a handshake.

He looked down at my hand almost in shock.

"You are definitely not like other girls, Reika." He said, taking it.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked him.

"I'm heading out now, I do not want any more of those push-ups." He said dodging the question.

We watched him go and I slipped the package into my back pocket.

"What is up with him?" I asked my other teammate.

"He's right you know," Seiichi said, before walking into the forest.

"Where are we going?" I asked, suspicious.

"Shut up and follow me." Narrowing my eyes in irritation I took a deep breath and followed him.

Do not hit your teammate, Reika.

"When we were in the academy, there were not many people who liked to be around Tsubasa." Seiichi started. "He was always the creepy bug boy whom the girls would scream and cower in disgust from, and the boys would make fun of and bully him."

My gut fell as I heard the story.

Tsubasa.

I looked down over my shoulder to notice the beetle still with me, cleaning himself.

We headed deeper into the forest, where no one usually went.

"I didn't care, I was mostly asleep for most of the classes. They were boring as hell." We reached a small clearing and he stopped just outside it.

"So I was the only one who sat near him."

"That is why he thinks I'm weird?" I asked. "Because I treat him like I do everyone else?"

"Pretty much."

"That's stupid." I snorted before looking around.

"So why are we here?" I asked him.

"Cause you are gullible." The blueberry grinned.

I frowned.

"What are you talking about?"

He pushed me.

That mother fucker pushed me.

I stepped back, but the ground fell as well.

"SEIICHI!" I growled as I hit the bottom of the pitfall.

"It worked!" He laughed from the top. He was holding his stomach with one hand, the other pointing at me. I was almost sure that he was about to fall over in laughter, his shoulders were shaking too much.

"The seal fucking well worked!"

That very seal floated down next to me and I took a look at it.

"You better have a good explanation for this, Asshole."

"Language, Toddler! You are only seven!" He snickered, he took a few breaths and calmed himself. "But honestly I just needed to try the seal out. It keeps a good layer of earth on the pitfall until someone steps on the actual seal."

I would have been fascinated any other time, but he used it on me.

"Honestly it's Cool! You can even jump on the part where the seal is not, and it won't fall."

"I am going to kill you!" I growled getting up, ready to get up there smash his face in and drag him by his ear to Kushina.

Almost immediately a scroll dropped on my face.

"Kushina-sensei Told us why you can't learn Sealing."

I froze, the rolled paper in my hands.

"Don't get caught, with this. It would be a pain to have to adjust to a new teammate."

And he was gone.

It was simple. But so him. Helping me, but wanting anyone to know.

I unraveled the scroll only to grin.

How to make an Explosive Tag.

Yes, I think I can overlook the Blueberry's prank, especially if he rewards me like this.

-.-

I walked in the door that night and collapsed in the entranced.

"Welcome home."

I looked up and blinked in surprise.

"Rin?" I asked.

"Dogpile on Reika!" I groaned as a little body plopped on me.

"This Is Youthful!" Gai yelled. And yes, he too plopped on me.

"Ow!" I groaned.

I pleaded with my eyes but the mischievous twinkle in Rin's eye said otherwise, and she too landed on me.

"Happy Birthday, Reika!" Gai shouted.

"It will be better if you get off me!" I groaned.

"All right you three!" My father said from the hall. I glared at his snickering. "Off. supper is ready."

"That's no fun!" Obito complained, finally getting up.

"Neither is having you all on top of me," I said pinching his cheek.

"Owww!"

"Go take a shower, Reika!" My mother called from the kitchen. "Make it quick!"

"We will wait for you!" Rin said helping me up.

She was going to follow me to my room but I think she realized that the boys had disappeared.

"Gai! Get your hands away from the cake!"

I took off from the door and smiled to myself. As I ran into my room. Making sure no one followed me. I hid the scroll under my bed, behind my drawer. Getting up, I gathered my thin black training clothes and headed to the bathroom.

There I took the fastest shower of my life, despite my protesting muscles. I would have never expected my friends to come over for my birthday.

My friends.

These kids are my friends.

It was still hard to believe.

By the time I sat down at the table, Rin was scolding Obito while Gai was kneeling in the corner.

"What happened to them?" I asked my mother. She waved me off.

"I love them." She said. "I love all three of them."

I looked around.

"Where is Otou-san?" I asked. Her smile grew and she pointed to their room. I rose an eyebrow and activated my Byakugan. He was leaning against the wall of their bedroom with his hand over his hand in his mouth, preventing him from being heard.

"Why?" I laughed, unsure what was happening. She pointing at Rin, who had taken control of putting the boys in their place.

Help me.

"Obito! Are you listening to me!"

Those were the words from Obito's lips and I had no choice but to comply.

"Hi, Kakashi," I said to thin air.

"Kakashi-kun?" Rin said turning around in mid-sentence.

Obito and Gai took the time to run away from where she had cornered them and took their seats at the table.

"Sorry, I thought I heard a dog bark," I bullshitted, taking the seat beside Obito.

"My hero!" He whispered to me. A thump was heard from my parent's bedroom and my mother cleared her throat to hide her own laughter. I activated my Kekkei Genkai only to notice my father now on the ground tapping the ground as he laughed quietly, his Byakugan also activated.

Rin sat beside me.

"Hiza!" she called. "Supper."

Almost immediately my father left the room his composure back in place.

I didn't think we were that funny.

We traded stories during dinner and caught up some more. And before I knew it, cake was being dished out.

"Presents!" Rin said handing me a small package.

I looked over at my mother to see her smiling and nodding.

"Thank you." I took it and started to open the paper around it.

A small plastic box awaited me sealed tight.

"It's a mini-med kit," Rin said as I opened it. "I put it together myself. I figured that since you will be sent on big missions soon, you could use it."

"That is a Very Youthful Gift, Rin!" Gai grinned, sitting on his knees looking over Obito to see the gift.

"Thank you, Rin," I said. I turned to her and she enveloped me in a hug.

"Just be careful on missions!" she said.

"I will," I promised.

Gai pushed passed Obito and handed me a long cylinder object.

"Mine shall be Next!"

I noticed Obito exhale in relief and watched him fidget nervously

I took the object, ignoring his actions for a second.

I unwrapped it and blinked.

It was a poster.

But not any poster.

It was of the world. Of This world. A few pins and a plastic pick fell out and hit my lap.

"They Map is the Latest Edition!" Gai cried. "You can scratch off all the places you have been. And the Pins are for Youthful events, such as where your Chunin exams will be or where you get your first bingo book entry!"

It was actually pretty cool.

"Thank you, Gai," I said looking at the world. It was similar to the map they gave up in the academy but this one was much bigger. It was great. "I will definitely be using this. It is a great idea."

He gave me a thumbs up and a smile and I resisted the urge to smack him down.

"Here!" Another gift was pushed into my hands by the boy next to me. His eyes were screwed shut behind his goggles and he gripped his pantlegs.

"I didn't know what to get you. I thought and thought about it but I couldn't figure it out so I figured you might not have one of these so I got it for you cause you know you're a girl and Rin and Miko-chan like squishy and soft things… soo…" he quieted.

"Don't kill me, please."

"Miko-chan?" I asked.

"My cousin." He answered, eyes still screwed shut.

I opened the package and blinked at what I saw.

"Obito," I asked.

"Yes?"

"Did you really get me a stuffed Owl?"

"Yes?"

My fingers ran through the 'feathers' of the stuffed animal. It was soft. Really soft. And it was fucking adorable. The black beady eyes? A-fucking-adorable.

"He's so cute," Rin said from over my shoulder.

"He is." I agreed.

A stuffed animal.

Obito got me a stuffed animal.

"Thank you, Obito," I said. He opened one eye.

"Do you like it?" he asked, his voice only slightly shaking.

"I love it."

And if anyone asks. I was not emotional.

And I did not sleep with a stuffed Owl that morning. No matter what my mother said.

And no, there are no photos…

Not anymore, I burned them.

-.-

Either life is just shit, or my Karma was really bad in my last life.

Considering everything I did? I would not be surprised if it was the latter.

"Are you listening to me, Girl!" The son of a Bitch blew.

In.

Out.

I'm going to kill him.

Right after I finish strangling Kushina-sensei.

Out of all the teachers, she could have got me. It just had to be him.

 _"This is Fugaku Uchiha, he owes me a favor so he is going to be teaching you about the elements for the next few weeks," Kushina said with a grin. She waved. "Have fun!"_

 _Then she was gone._

"He's an Uchiha she said. They are able to copy different elemental ninjutsu." I muttered. "It will be easy to learn, she said."

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

I placed my hands back on the earth and closed my eyes.

Water flows.

Fire burns.

Wind cuts.

Lighting strikes.

And Earth… crumbles?

No that's not right.

What do earth attacks do?

It slams? Defends? They Stand…

Absorb. Earth absorbs.

"Hn." The Uchiha-shit shifted, and I poured my chakra into the ground.

Like I had thought, the ground absorbed it.

I let it swirl below my hands, in the earth.

Slowly I opened my eyes and raised my hands watching as small pillar raised from the ground.

"Finally." The dick-wad said. "It only took you four hours!"

My eyebrow twitched and I counted back from ten.

Do not kill him.

Everything will be ruined if you kill him.

He walked next to me. He was in full gear, his jonin vest on with the open diamond-print apron. His unimpressed dull face glanced down at the tiny pillar.

"It still looks pitiful. I want it five ties this height by the end of the day."

I hid my face in my sleeve, trying not to snap.

Fuck it. I'm using the hack.

I crossed my fingers and created a single clone.

Almost immediately she looked over at Fugaku and I knew exactly what it was thinking.

No, you can't smash his face in.

"Keep trying," I told her. She nodded and sat down in front of me.

I shifted my position and cleared the ground of debris before trying again.

"I see Kushina disregarded the rule where only those with large amounts of chakra are allowed to use this technique," Fugaku said shifting his weight, his black eyes silently judging me.

I refused to speak. I let go of the limit I had unconsciously been placing on my chakra and glared at the fucker.

"Hm." He looked at me and I could see the wheels turning. My chakra was growing. Since I turned genin my chakra has almost doubled in size. I could only estimate that by the time I was out of puberty and my chakra reserves settled, I would dwarf many people. The only person I knew I would never have less then me, was Kushina herself. Fucking Kurama and Uzumaki Genes.

Just to prove another point, I summoned two other shadow clones and had them start to work too. This was my new project.

"So the rumors are true." He muttered.

"What rumors?" I asked, frowning. He snorted and surprisingly patted my head.

"Focus brat." He said. "I want you to have mastered the fundamentals of all nature transformations in five weeks."

"All five in Five weeks!" I exclaimed. "Are you crazy! Barely anyone has ever mastered all of them at all, let alone in five weeks."

Fugaku snorted.

"You are not mastering them, kid." He said. "I'm only teaching the basics of nature transformation for each element, per Saturday. After that, you are on your own for techniques and figuring them out."

I blinked.

"Only how to do the basics?"

"Yes," He drummed his fingers on his arms. "if you know the basics you only need to practice the techniques and get better at them. It will still take you half your life, but you might become a master. Most give up and only specialize in two or three by the twenty-year mark."

His eyes moved to look at my clones. "Those clones will help you do it a bit faster, despite you only being able to make a pitiful 3 of them."

Fuck off cock-sucker.

I controlled my breathing.

I don't know how long I can last dealing with him until my control will snap.

"Stop messing around, Slacker."

Ten

Nine

Eight

…

-.-

Hello All,

Here is chapter 16. I took the liberty of making this chapter a happy one. A birthday chapter.

And at long last! Minato arrives! Over ramen too. As does Fugaku... Poor Reika, she wants to smash his face in so bad... but at least this sets the story up for the next chapter. If you remember what I said the last chapter... When Reika has learned the basics of all the nature transformation, only then will C-rank missions start to pop up.

This week's chapter is related to her team-ish. I have already asked what you all think about Team 6, but this time I would like to ask what you think of how I write them. Do you think they are too basic? Or do they have some dimensionality(2D or 3D?) to them? Do they have character? Can you connect with them?  
I would also like to know if any of the other characters need more developing, in your opinion. (Other then Minato, that I know.)

Thank you for your Patience, Views, Favorites, Follows and Amazing Reviews.

Love you all, and until next time,

Ravenmocker6

P.S THANK YOU! This story has officially reached 100+ Reviews, 200+ Favorites and 300+ Follows! You are all amazing. All the feedback you give me is so encouraging. I love you all. You help motivate me and give me confidence in this half-baked idea. Please keep it going, I love hearing from all of you! Do you think we can reach 200 Reviews, 400 Favorites, and 600 Follows?

 **Lizyeh2000** , Happy Holidays to you too!

 **Animeisheaven,** I'm glad you are liking it! Here is the next chapter!

 **Dark Rose Charm** , Of course, she will have more than one element. But she will always be better at Earth jutsu. It fits her the best in my opinion. It fits well with what she will become anyway.I wish it was that Simple. Even if she was to marry into another prominent clan, the seal will not be taken off. Her byakugan is still there and the objective of the curse seal is to destroy the Doujutsu upon death.  
Sorry for taking so long, life does get in the way of doing what we want. I missed you guys as well. I'm glad to be back.

 **Tererdroneb,** Thanks for understanding.

 **AmsLenah** , Thanks! I hope you like this one as well.

 **Sunstar Writer** , Thank you very much. I truly try my best, but sometimes I feel like I don't give them enough. I can't wait for your next Review!

 **Silverlined Phoenix** , It fits with her personality, being the powerhouse. In her past life as Shelby, her fighting talent and ability to overwhelming her opponent no matter how much damage was dealt to her was and will always be her greatest strength. Thanks!

 **Shubhangi** , Your wish is my command. Honestly, I had uploaded the chapter last night to the document manager. I just had to read through it again. Sorry for the wait.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17- Typical C-rank

"Gather around children!" Kushina clapped. I sat up in my comfy bedroll to watch her sit on the ground by the fire. She looked at me and grinned before patting the ground beside her.

Tsubasa was the first by her side, with an arm full of wood. He placed the branches beside her and sat where she had gestured.

"That was fast." I teased coming up beside him.

"I do not want to give her an excuse to give me more pushups." He whispered under his breath. Seiichi snickered and took the space to the other side of our teacher.

"First thing is first." She cleared her throat. "Are you excited for your first C-rank mission?"

I don't think we even needed the fire for light when she was able to grin that bright.

"I guess," Seiichi said, scratching his head. "I mean at least we don't have one of those babysitting D-ranks again."

I shivered thinking about the horror that is kids.

"I second that," Tsubasa said. "But you have not told us what this mission entails exactly."

"Ah!" Kushina scratched the back of her head. "Let's do that now!"

I crossed my legs and gave Kushina my full attention.

"So as you know, we are going to raid a bandit hideout, and capture their leader." She started, picking up one of Tsubasa's sticks.

She drew a circle and wrote Kohona in it.

"We will be moving another half a day's run South before we reach their self-proclaimed territory."

The stick moved south between where we knew the village laid and the sea.

"Usually this would have been classified as a B-rank mission since we don't usually know the strength of the bandits, but fortunately for us, these bandits are not so secret." She grinned. "We were able to gain information about these guys quite easily and they are ridiculously weak and have only been around for a few months."

"I don't know if I should take that as a good thing," Seiichi growled.

"Do not argue, Seiichi," Tsubasa reprehended. "At least we know nothing will go wrong this way."

I snorted in disbelief.

"What?" Tsubasa asked confused.

"Anything can happen. C-ranks are ambiguous and almost never stay C-rank." I retorted.

"Now now," Kushina said scratching her chin. "That only happens to 50% of C-rank, Dattebane!"

That's half of all C-ranks, but the number was understandable. While D-ranks were chores and A-ranks were serious business. C and B could easily be muffled and sometimes miss-classified due to lack of information.

"Very comforting," Tsubasa said dryly. I resisted the smile before Kushina brought us back on topic.

"According to our sources, they are not more than 15 and they cannot use chakra. Our objective is to hopefully scare them into returning to a ordinary life and to capture the bandit leader to bring into questioning." She grinned. "Any questions?"

"No," I answered. "It seems easy enough."

The other two agreed with me.

"Good, lets talk strategy then." She said moving to a crossed leg position.

"When we get close enough, Rei-chan, you will use your Byakugan to assess the situation." She said to me. "To confirming what our source has said."

She drew a little cave and trees around it.

"Blueberry, you and I will create obvious traps in the forest around the cave, leaving one corridor open so that we will funnel them there. We are not aiming to kill them, just to show them that they are completely overpowered and under Kohona's radar."

I chuckled at the blueberry she drew on the left side of the forest, and the Uzumaki swirl on the right side.

"Glasses, you are going to send in your bugs to drop a smoke bomb. They will come out see the traps and then run to the area without any."

She looked over at me and winked before she childishly drew a little bug and an arrow to the cave.

"That is where Rei-chan secures the leader." She took out a picture of a salt and pepper haired man, with some scruff on his face. He looked fairly average, in ratty clothing. "I threaten the group, then we let them go. Easy."

"Sound solid," Seiichi commented.

"It's an outline. We will have to adjust it when we get there but it is always good to think up a basic plan to start to in case we have to act immediately." She grinned, erasing the drawing. "Now I'll take first watch, Blueberry you get second, Rei-chan you have third, and Glasses gets last. We are up at seven tomorrow."

"Yes, sensei." We said in sync.

-.-

"Alright team," Kushina whispered as we stopped in the trees, blending in with the darkness of the night. "We are about a kilometer from the cave, now move silently."

We nodded, suppressing our chakra and we switched our steps to stealth by concentrating our weight on the ball of our feet. This allowed us to move silently, like a cat.

We reached the treeline and hid in a bush.

I glanced over at Kushina as her hands moved indicating me to scope the area.

I activated my Kekkai Genkai and my world turned black and white. I scanned the outside first noticing two men that stood guard outside, lazily talking to each other, hands crossed on their chest, swords on their hips. I relayed the info through sign language before zooming inside the cave.

I motion the number 14 to my teammates, with a mixture of sleeping, eating and unguarded.

I searched the inside of the cave. Scoping out the only room that had been dug into the bedrock of the hill.

Looking back at the men, I recognized the leader conversing with another man.

My eyes narrowed and I took a closer look at the second man's chakra system. His network was open. I blinked.

One, I motioned. Shinobi, possibility. Chakra runs freely.

I turned off my Byakugan and looked over at Kushina.

Jonin? She asked me.

I shook my head. Genin max. I answered. the system was worked but not significantly.

She nodded and motioned away.

We followed her out of the vicinity, to where we could talk freely.

"I thought there were only fifteen bandits, and they did not use chakra," Tsubasa asked.

"That is what Intel told us." Kushina folded her arms. "No matter, he's only one, probably a new guy with low chakra capabilities."

"But shouldn't we report it?" Seiichi asked.

"If we reported all little hiccups…" Kushina trailed off.

"The Hokage wouldn't be able to make enough clones to deal with the paperwork that would flood in." I finished.

"Exactly," Kushina said. "We continue like we planned. Once he gets closer, his developed chakra system will be noticeable, so stay vigilant and be careful."

We nodded, agreeing with her.

"Good, Rei-chan, you are with Blueberry. Glasses, with me," Kushina-sensei said. "Glasses, we are going to need you to immobilize the guards as if they fell asleep. Then you two are going to keep an eye on the camp while we trap the forest as it is still dark.

I sighed.

I guess I better get used to no sleep once again.

But A few days no sleep was nothing.

We rushed through the forest to our position. With my Byakugan I traced Tsubasa's bugs as they left him circled around behind the guards. I watched the bugs stick they fangs into their arms. almost immediately the sat on the ground and fell asleep.

Clear, I motioned to my teammate.

I turned around and had to blink.

The kid was fast. He already had five traps splayed out around the forest. Trip wires, explosive notes, and was currently and quietly digging a pitfall.

What the hell, I motioned.

He grinned and grabbed a pack of explosive notes and tripwire. He tied them at different levels, neck, ankle, knees, and torso layering an explosive note to each. He was exaggerating but that was exactly what we needed.

Read scroll.

I narrowed my eyes, unsure what he meant by that. As I kept an eye on both my partner and the cave entrance.

Present.

Oh, he wanted to know if I read the scroll on making explosive notes.

I grinned and took out a solid five from my back pocket.

He stopped what he was doing to inspect my work.

Nice try.

I gave him the finger but looked at me smugly and gave them back.

Rude child, he motioned.

I rolled my eyes before we focused on our respective jobs.

-.-

"Ready you two?" Kushina whispered from behind us.

I placed a hand on Seiichi's mouth to stop him from cursing in surprise, already knowing she was going to surprise us. Just cause we are on a mission does not mean Kushina would stopping being Kushina.

"Yes," I whispered back. Tsubasa realized a swarm of beetles and let them enter the den.

It didn't take long. Maybe a few minutes.

I watched them with my Byakugan. They didn't move for a good few seconds before the smoke bomb was dropped by Tsubasa's bugs.

Panic settled in first and they immediately headed out the entrance to the cave and straight to us. The first few guys were quickly dispatched by Tsubasa and Seiichi as I scan the few that had come out running.

Mr. salt and pepper hair were the last to get out and I immediately aim for him.

Confusion crossed his eyes before they landed on the insignia I wore on my hips.

By the time the thought registered in his head, he was in my range.

Eight trigrams, Eight palms.

His back hit the rock wall of the cave behind him and he coughed up blood and fell unconscious.

"Stop!"

I whirled around. To see Seiichi reaching out towards the northern forest. The forest we trapped with such obvious traps.

My eyes traveled to the new hole in the wall ten meters back into the cave, barely missing the blinding flash bomb that was attached to the first layer of traps as a warning.

Only 9 had exited, the other 6 had stayed inside, including the chakra-trained man.

The first explosion went off soon after, blasting the first blinded and scared bandit. The wire had chopped off his head before the explosion had a chance to be set off, but the other bandits following him were not so lucky. The force of the explosion caught the whole area we trapped, triggering the rest of the explosion seals. My back hit the rock wall as I got caught in the ricochet of the blast.

My vision went black for a moment before I counted back down from 10, rolled forward and opened my eyes.

Shit.

My team.

I need to check on my team.

I got up dizzy but fine.

Cursed C-ranks.

Tsubasa knocked out one of the guys. Before jumping back away from the fire. Good. We don't need all his bugs to burn up.

Kushina was weaving hand signs running forward towards the forest.

Dragon-Tiger-Hare

Water Release: Wild Water Wave!

A stream of water flew from her mouth and into one side of the fire, suffocating and controlling it.

My eyes turned to the last teammate left and I acted on instinct.

My hand fingered my kunai out of its pouch and I threw it with speed and precision. With a thump, it landed in the bandit's throat as he stood over Seiichi a sword just above his head.

His death never even registered in my mind.

The latter was staring into the forest which was on fire. His face was filled with emotion, and I couldn't decide, nor did I have time, whether it was in fear, shock or guilt. It was probably all three.

"Tsubasa!" I cried. The Aburame kicked away one of the bandits and looked over at me. I motioned to our teammate.

Understanding, he ran to him getting him up and away.

I watched them disappear to the sidelines, away from both the raging fire and the leftover bandits that we had knocked out.

Seeing as how they were away safe, I concentrated on the next problem and ran towards my teacher. I copied the hand signals that she had luckily taught me early last week. It was slower and not as large as hers but I was lucky successful with the nature transformation and spit out a water wave.

Water Release: Wild Water Wave.

The water wavered as I attempted to hold my Byakugan as well.

But one of them had to give. And thus I turned off my Dojutsu and focused on aiding Kushina put out the forest fire.

The wave strengthened and I concentrating on converting the chakra into water, using the enhancing gloves that I had received from Sakumo and Kakashi for my birthday.

I don't know how long we worked, but by the end I was sweating, kneeling on the ground, gasping for air.

I glanced up at the forest. It was burned and flooded, smoke rising from the ground and trees into the air. You could also see a few charred bodies, the flesh melted off and no longer looking human. Their clothes were burned off, no skin to be seen, just black. If this had been my first time smelling burning flesh, I would have puked. It smelt awful, definitely not like a BBQ.

"Are you okay Rei-chan?"

I turned my head to see red hair beside me. Kushina knelt by my side, her hand wavering beside my back, but not touching me.

I can understand why.

The worst someone could do in a dangerous situation is touch another person. You have no idea how they are going to react.

I swallowed the lump of adrenaline in my throat and nodded.

I pushed my feet under me and raised myself. I wobbled but stood despite being overly dizzy.

"Good job." She said. Annoyance passed through me as I noticed the only sweat on her was from the heat. Her chakra had not diminished very much and she was calm and collected.

I followed her back to Tsubasa and Seiichi, the first in a similar state to me, but with a big black bruise on his cheek, one of his glasses' lens shattered revealing a bright yellow eye.

Seiichi was, to be frank, a mess.

Tears ran down his face as his eyes locked onto one of the charred bodies. There wasn't even any blood left to seep into the wet ground.

"I'm sorry." He whispered.

"I didn't want to hurt them."

I looked away to the small battlefield that we had fought.

"It wasn't your fault, Seiichi," Kushina said, pain evident on her face. Her eyes were soft and damp, and her voice soft and understanding.  
"Things like this happen quite a bit. You cannot control what the other side does."

"I should have put another layer of warning traps, this way they would have had a chance to turn back," he growled, hitting the ground.

Kushina sighed.

"Glasses, Rei-chan, can you go round up the leader," she asked us.

We nodded and left the student and teacher to chat.

-.-

"Do you need any help, Kushina-Sensei," I asked.

She looked over her shoulder and blinked up at me, her shovel half in the ground.

"You shouldn't be here, Reika." She said disapprovingly, moving slightly to the left to hide one of the bodies from my view. "I told you to watch the leader of the bandits with Tsubasa and Seiichi."

I couldn't help but notice how she called all of us by own first name and not the nickname she had first given us.

"Tsubasa is enough for babysitting duty," I told her grabbing the other shovel we had found in the bandit base. "And this will not be the last time I see a dead body."

Nor is it the first.

She paused as I moved around her and started to dig another hole next to the body she was trying to hide from me.

"You are only seven." She whispered. "I was hoping that you will not be witnessing one of these for yet a while."

"We are ninja," I said forcing the metal object into the ground. "Death happens all around us all the time."

I heard her shovel digging into the ground again.

"You killed today as well." She stated.

"Yes, I did," I told her, not stopping in my shoveling.

"You understand that I have to report this, right?" she said.

"The mission?" I asked confused. "That is obvious."

She shook her head.

"I mean, the fact that you and Seiichi killed."

I paused.

"You have to report that?" I asked, surprised.

"They teach that in the academy, Rei-chan." She scolded.

Oh, there is the nickname.

"Ah," I shrugged. "I probably missed that when I was skipping years."

She started to pat the hole straight with the shoveled before placing it in the pile of dirt.

"What does that mean?" I asked curiously. "What happens after you report it, I mean?"

She picked up a charred body and laid it in the hole.

"Phycological evaluations." She said.

My shovel froze.

"They are going to mindwalk me?" I asked in a panic.

That is bad. That is really fucking bad.

Kushina glanced at me blinking in surprise.

"No, just a standard evaluation." She said. "They don't do that unless it the ninja cannot function or start to lose strands of sanity."

I sighed in relief.

"Why would you think that?" she asked.

Oh shit. Is she suspicious?

I moved my shovel again.

"I don't like the idea of someone else in my head." I hissed, in distaste.

Kushina snickered.

"I don't know one ninja that does like it!" She commented.

I dodged that bullet.

"What about Seiichi?" I asked, confronting the subject that I really wanted to talk about.

I pushed my shovel into the pile of loose dirt then grabbed the cold hands of the shinobi I killed and dragged him into the hole.

I looked back and noticed Kushina staring at me seriously, no hint of goofiness like she usually had.

Did I do something weird?

"He's going to need a couple of sessions with a shinobi council." She said watching me work. I made sure the body was well placed in the grave before returning to the shovel.

"Is he going to be okay?" I asked. I blinked at the worry in my voice.

Am I becoming a worry wart?

"He should," Kushina said taking up the shovel again. "But he is going to need support."

I hummed before continuing my work.

That I know.

It's hell to go through a first kill alone.

-.-

We headed out once all the bodies were buried. Kushina carried our prisoner on her shoulder at point, with the three of us behind her. Other then the bruise on his face, Tsubasa was okay. Out from his coat, a beetle flew out and I welcomed him on my shoulder once again.

I would never have thought I would ever think that a beetle was adorable.

I caught my teammate's yellow eye. He should definitely take off those glasses, they were half broken anyway. He nodded to our third teammate lagging behind us. Clearly distracted.

Engage how?

I almost snickered at the meaning behind the hand signs. It seemed so detached and unsure. It was typical Tsubasa. I waved him off and fell back to be beside our third teammate.

"Leave me alone," Seiichi said, his blue hair shading his face.

I rolled my eyes.

"As if." I told him. "You're self-destructive."

"Fuck off." He growled.

"You are still a kid." I hit him lightly upside the head. "You shouldn't swear."

He narrowed his eyes and glared at me. I snickered and moved up front, to be with Kushina.

All I heard was growling from Seiichi and a sigh of hopelessness from Tsubasa.

-.-

That night, Seiichi had first watch.

I rolled towards the fire and watched the flames illuminate his expression.

Fear.

This ten-year-old boy, was terrified because he killed and didn't know how to deal with it.

I sighed before wiggling out of my warm sleeping bag and walked towards him.

"What do you want?" he snapped.

"A new clan," I answered. "World peace, and a long and easy life."

I sat down next to him.

"That's impossible," He snorted.

"Exactly." I looked over at him. "So is going through a ninja carrier without killing"

He stilled.

"I killed yesterday too Seiichi."

And I've killed so many before too.

"It's not your fault.."

"You know nothing!" He half yelled.

"Quiet." I hissed, looking back at where Kushina and Tsubasa slept on. The prisoner was other the other side of the fire, with a Knock-out tag on his chest.

"I could have made less lethal traps. Traps that would have tied them up, or just smacked them with a branch or knocked them out." He hissed.

"You put flash tags on the first few meters of the forest to warn them, Seiichi," I told him. "We were counting on them to stop, not keep running towards the traps."

"No one on Kushina's side got killed." He hissed.

"That is because they chose to come out on your side." I told him. "The rocks were thinner."

He huffed, before leaning down on his knees, his eyes looking at the ground.

"I was overconfident and wanted to test my abilities." He muttered. "I figured it would be a great chance to show them off."

"And it was," I told him.

We fell into a silence.

"Do you remember what I said about C-ranks?" I told him.

He looked over.

"They rarely go to plan." He muttered.

"Exactly." I said. "and this was an example of how the mission went differently than planned."

"But we completed our objective," I told him. "Maybe not the optimal way. But we scared them, and I doubt the others will be continuing their lifestyle if they witnessed 8 of their men killed by children, including someone that had the ability to use chakra."

"We could have scared them a different way," Seiichi muttered.

"We could've." I agreed. I got up off my bench.

"But we didn't."

I stretched up to the night sky.

"I wish I could know the future."

Guilt poured into my gut.

"Everyone wants to know the future," I responded before heading back to my bedroll.

But not everyone could handle it.

That night I dreamt of war.

-.-

"Our return was simple and non-eventful," Kushina concluded. We stood behind her as she gave the verbal speech to the desk Jonin.

All missions B class and up were usually debriefed by the Hokage himself, but due to this being a simple C-rank, the Jonin on desk duty would hear it out.

The desk ninja nodded and stamped the scroll with a Successful stamp.

"I'm expecting a written report from each of you by 5:00 pm." He told all of us. And trust me. Seiichi gave his in half an hour late once and got an earful. Not fun, and we will stick to it.

"You are dismissed." The ninja said.

Tsubasa opened the door, leading Seiichi filed out.

I moved to follow but noticed that Kushina didn't move.

"Sensei?" I asked.

"Get those papers done, children." She grinned. "And let's meet at Ichiraku tonight at 5:30 for a job well done."

She going to report it.

I sighed.

"Yes, Sensei," I said before moving out of the room and closing the door.

"Sensei is staying?" Tsubasa asked.

I nodded.

"Ichiraku at 5:30 pm," I told them. "Don't be late!"

I stretched before walking out with a wave.

"I'm heading home to a shower," I called before moving down the hall away from my teammates. "And get that paper done, Seiichi!"

It took a few hours, but all three of us sat in the little restaurant with bowls of ramen in front of us, and our reports submitted.

"Great job you three," Kushina stated with a grin and we dug in.

I watched Seiichi from the corner of my eye as he smirked at something Tsubasa said.

I don't know what I said. but he seemed to be working through the pain. Whatever deity or deities out there know I'm not the best at consoling people.

Kushina's hands moved all over the place animately and she told a story that I half listened to. But it was fine, I had ramen.

And Seiichi and I had an appointment the next morning for an evaluation.

-.-

"Stop fidgeting Seiichi," I said trying to control the twitching of my eyebrows.

"And how the hell are you so calm about this?" He hissed beside me.

I sighed before closing my eyes and laying my head on the wall behind me. We sat in the waiting room, a door with Inoichi Yamanaka's name on a metal plate beside it.

And thus I get to meet another canon character.

"Because we were going to have to go through this one day," I told him.

"Tch." He pulled out a scroll and started to read it. I looked over and tried to read what it said. as if he was trying to annoy me, he shifted it away from my view.

Asshole.

"Reika-chan?"

He head shot up and I looked into blue-green eyes.

"Yes?" I asked, getting up from my chair.

He wore the standard uniform, with his flak jacket ontop it. It was almost boring.

"Come right this way."

I sent a look over to my teammate and saw him swallow nervously. I rolled my eyes and followed the man into the room. He closed the door behind us and motioned me to sit down.

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Inoichi Yamanaka and I will be your counselor for today." He said moving around the plain wood desk in front of me.

It was annoying me. The desk that is.

It looked like that of the Office Lady.

Bitch.

"As the heir to my clan, I specialize in the mind and helping other shinobi in difficult instances."

He opened a file on his desk, my name written in large letters on the side.

"I received a letter yesterday night that your Sensei set up an appointment with me for you. Do you know why?"

"I had my first kill," I answered, pulling my attention to the blond-haired man.

My blunt answer didn't phase the man.

"Ah," He wrote it down at the top of an empty page and closed the file. "May I ask what happened."

"Mission," I said. "I'm sure you have already had the briefing from Kushina-sensei."

I was actually surprised that he didn't flinch when I called him out on his bullshit. He was trying to get me to talk about it. How I really felt. He wanted me to explain it, to see how I react to the death. And to admit why I was here. It was a tactic they all use.

This wasn't my first rodeo. As a kid, my first father had sent me to quite a few counselors.

Nothing ever helped.

"That is true." He replied, he crossed his fingers on his lap and gave me his full attention.

"But please humor me."

"What do you want to know?" I asked.

I wanted this done. It was a Sunday, and I wanted to go meet up with Sakumo and Kakashi.

"What happened on the mission."

"We trapped both sides of the cave entrance so that the bandits would funnel out and we could threaten them and let them go." I recounted. "Turns out a chakra user was there and they created a hole in the wall with earth jutsu and the rest of the bandits ran into the trapped forest. They were blown to pieces."

"Which one of those was your first kill?" He asked his head turning ever so slightly to the side.

I shook my head.

"My teammate was the one who traped them, he killed them," I told him. "I killed the bandits that were trying to kill him after he collapsed in shock."

I looked at the clock and read 8:55 am.

I was going to be late at this point.

"And how does that make you feel?" He asked.

I blinked in surprise.

"Feel?" I asked.

"I don't feel anything."

He blinked. Surprised? He was able to school his expression fast.

"Why not?"

"Because It was necessary." I looked back up at the clock. 9:05.

"Necessary?"

"Yes, because if he lived, then my teammate would have been killed. So I don't feel bad, and I don't feel happy. I did what had to be done."

He nodded.

"I'm glad you understand that." He said. "That's what most people have to understand after their first kill."

I shrugged.

"It's common sense."

He laughed before catching me looking at the clock.

"Do you have somewhere to be?" he asked amused.

"Sorry," I admitted. "I was not expecting the councilling to be this late, I told my uncle and best friend that I was going to meet up with him at 9:00."

"Where are you meeting him?" Inoichi asked curiously.

"Training ground 44," I told him. "They are supposed to take me inside for training."

"At seven years old?" he blinked, surprised.

"Yeah?" was that uncommon.

"Ah." He scratched the back of his head. "Then I guess we are finished here. You are okay to return to active duty."

"Thank you Yamanaka-san," I said getting up from the chair and reaching the door.

"Have fun training."

I sent a smile.

"I will."

I left the room, closing the door.

"What? You are already done?" Seiichi asked, putting his scroll away.

"That was barely 15 minutes."

I rolled my eyes.

"They are only testing to see if I can think clearly," I told my teammate.

"That's it?" he asked nervously. I shrugged and he got up, nervously.

"What happens if I'm not ready to return to duty?" He asked.

I'm more nervous about what Inoichi put in my file.

I activated my Byakugan, letting Seiichi talk to himself and pace himself into the floor. I zoomed into the room and watched as Inoichi marked notes on my file.

I was actually surprised that the room was not guarded with any seals to stop the Byakugan.

He made some notes about my character before going into detail about me.

Mature for age.

Blunt.

Typical Genius

My eyes narrowed.

Desensitised by death? Already understood that death is normal.

Like Kushina said, best to keep an eye on her.  
Acts like a veteran Shinobi.

He wrote a few more notes before closing the report and filing it away. I turned off my Kekkai Genkai when he pulled out another file.

"Good luck Seiichi," I told him before walking away.

"Come find me later if you need to talk."

"As if!" He scoffed.

"Seichi-kun?"

I left the hallway numb.

What gave me away?

I took to the roofs and made my way to the meeting spot.

Was I being too blunt? Too advanced for my age?

How the hell did he notice that I was desensitized to death?

How did Kushina know?

I pushed off a roof and blinked.

Wait.

When I went to talk to her about Seiichi, I helped her bury the bodies.

I remember her being surprised and or suspicious about something…

I messed up.

I groaned before grabbing my forehead.

I touched the ground before running into the forest.

The bodies.

I voluntarily touched the bodies.

And the first body I buried was the one I killed.

The second one I buried had its arm blown off and was charred to a crisp.

I never really reacted to them other than whipping my blackened hands on my pants.

I'm an idiot.

I jumped onto a branch and was about to jump to another when a voice stopped me.

"Hello, Reika-chan."

I froze.

I knew that voice.

I looked over to my right and noticed the brown-haired green-eyed man.

"Rokuro-san," I said finishing my jump to another branch, just to get away from him.

I turned back towards him.

"It has been a while." He mentioned.

Shit. Oh shit. On shit.

"That it has," I replied. I gave myself an imaginary pat on the back for keeping my voice from trembling. "If you will forgive me, I have to go meet up with someone."

"Your talent is being wasted, kid."

I swallowed the lump in my throat.

"I don't know what you mean, Rokuro-san."

"Don't play dumb, kid." His face was expressionless. "You are being invited nicely, right now."

A fit of anger like I hadn't felt in quite a while formed in my gut.

"You won't be able to pull me into the darkness." I fired back. "I'm on a team, under a prominent Jonin, am friends with an important Jonin's son. If I am going to be brought into Anbu, the Hokage has to invite me himself."

Rokuro laughed.

"There are ways to fix that kid." He said, I felt a build up of chakra in him and immediately fell into a fighting stance.

"Watch yourself. You are not as invincible as you may seem. The people around you are killable."

My breath caught in my throat as I threw a kunai at him.

I'd like to say that I was such a good aim that it hit him, but he honestly let it hit him.

He poped, indicating that I had been conversing with a shadow clone.

Why.

Why am I always the one that draws attention?

I forced my breathing so that I was calm.

"What about me is so Damn interesting?" I said out loud.

I shook my head before returning to my path to the training ground. When I got there I jumped the fence and ran into the wood.

Focusing my sense I grabbed hold of Sakumo and Kakashi's chakra and followed it.

I reached the river bed soon enough just in time to see Kakashi go flying into the water.

"Keep your guard up Kakashi," Sakumo said.

The boy resurfaced before pushing himself onto the surface of the water.

"Yes, Tou-san." He said getting back in his stance.

I caught Sakumo's eyes and nodded to Kakashi. He winked before turning back to his son. Taking that as a yes. I jumped out of my hiding place and kicked his back, making him fly back into the water.

Sakumo and I bursted out laughing as the boy emerged again glaring at me.

I touched the riverbed and walked back a few paced.

"Nice to see you again Reika," Sakumo said.

"Good Morning Reika!" Pakun said from below a tree trunk.

I blinked at the pug a few times before looking around me. Where the hell was the other one.

I didn't have time to move before a bark sounded behind me and the huge ass baby jumped on me. I screeched as I fell into the river as well.

I resurfaced silently and glared at the dog.

He panted happily from the shoreline with a wet Kakashi grinning from behind his mask.

"You suck," I muttered to Bull.

He barked at me and I rolled my eyes getting out of the water.

"Payback." My little shit of a best friend said.

"Yeah, yeah," I replied wringing out my long brown hair. "I deserved that one."

Sakumo walked up to us and rubbed our heads.

"You two never change." He said.

I shrugged.

"Sorry I was late," I told them. "I had a follow-up appointment from my mission yesterday."

"Appointment for what?" Kakashi asked.

"Nothing important," I said.

Kakashi seemed like he was going to protest when Sakumo put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head.

"I heard you finished your training with Fugaku." He said leading us to the trucks that they were using as seats, around what used to be a fire pit.

I looked at puzzled before realizing he was talking to me.

"Yes," I told him. "I've somewhat figured out the basics of nature transformation in all the elements."

"That's quite a feat." He whistled. "I know Jonin that haven't figured it out yet."

"I don't know many elemental jutsu yet," I told him. "I still have a way to go. I know some earth and water jutsu and am still having some trouble with lightning and wind basic transformations."

"We can practice together if you want,"Kakashi piped up. "Dad has me starting on lighting transformation now.

I grinned.

"That might work, you can give me pointers," I said. "I'm having trouble amplifying the lightning. I can get a few sparks, but it does not go past my arms."

"I'm about the same place." He said swinging his legs.

"Then how about you two start that now?" Sakumo said from beside us. "You can stand on the water while doing it."

"On the water?" I asked.

"water conducts lighting better!" Kakashi said before grabbing my hand. He pulled me onto the water. "It will help us control the element better."

I blinked as he let go and moved a few steps away from me. Almost immediately he focused his energy and I recognized the static from the electricity as it sparked on his arms.

Sakumo chuckled from the shore as he stood there and watched us.

I sighed before doing the same.

We trained for the rest of the day together, going from lightning transformation to sparing. It turns out that Kakashi got really good and very deadly with a sword. He almost nicked me quite a few time on the nose. The trick was to get the sword away from him. When my Kekkei Genkai was allowed in spars, that was my advantage. With a Vacuum Palm, I could destabilize him, knocking the sword out from his hand.

"Hey, you two," Sakumo called.

I let my eyes wander from Kakashi to the older man only for my best friend to get a cheap shot in.

My butt hit the ground and I glared at the grinning boy.

"This is a spar Reika, you are not supposed to look away."

Sakumo laughed.

"He got you there." I rolled my eyes before we gave him our full attention.

"Let's get out of here." He said. "I'm hungry for BBQ."

I blinked in surprise.

"We are leaving?" Kakashi asked. "Training Ground 44?"

"Yeah, your training is done for now." Sakumo grinned. "Congratulations."

I looked over at Kakashi to see a flash of disappointment in his eyes. He was enjoying his time with his father.

"But what about not being seen in public?" I asked him.

"I do still have friends." He laughed. "Akimichi friends."

With my own grin, I cocked back my leg and kicked Kakashi's legs from under him.

"You're a ninja, you should always be aware of your surroundings." I teased, finally getting back at him for his last comment.

Payback is a bitch.

-.-

Hello Everyone,

Sorry for the delay, but no worries, here is another chapter of Karma's a B...

Like I hinted at last chapter, Team Six gets their first C-rank Mission. Poor Seiichi, it broke my heart to write this.  
I was actually having trouble with what eye color Tsubasa should have as well.

Now, Who do you else do you want to see? I'm open to considerations and am quite curious as to which characters you want Reika to interact with.

Thank you all for your Patience, Views, Favorites, Follows and amazing Reviews.

Love you all,  
RavenMocker6

 **Dark Rose Charm** , I agree, Obito was super adorable. I love him as a character. to continue the discussion on the seal it would probably depend on whether or not they have the Byakugan. If they have the dojutsu, they the clan(as it is now) would probably force it on them, for their own 'protection'.

 **Animeisheaven** , Yeah. I was actually on the hook as to if he or Mikoto should teach her. But I've already read a few fanfictions that have Mikoto as a teaching figure beside Kushina, but not many have Fugaku. So I decided to explore it.

 **Tererdrone** , and why would you think that? And please note that I am not agreeing with you nor am I denying it.

 **Tick Tock Follow The Clock** , I'm definitely going to add it in later. Maybe as an added bonus in a later chapter.

 **curleystruggle** , Awww. That is a great way to describe her! Mind if I steal the reference? I would like to use it for when a certain character is introduced...

 **lizyeh2000** , it's my pleasure. I'm sure Reika appreciates your good wishes!

 **thestorymaker2** , The main reason I gave is the possibility for her to remove the seal. The seal not only prevents the dojutsu from being stolen but also lets them control the member with pain. without the seal, that member can do whatever they want, and the main house has no control over them.

 **Gamedy Dragon** , Awww. Thank you. I really want these characters to make you all feel what they are. you actually have no idea how many hours I put into writing chapter 12. I just had to get it right. From all the feedback, I think I did alright. Thanks for the encouragement.

 **AmsLenah** , I have no idea what you are talking about... I swear... Sorry... Ops.

, Thanks! I'm on the fence about whether she would be a good older sister. I find her to be a bit too aggressive, at least at the moment. In canon, yes both of their parents die, though we do not know what happened to their mother. Anyway, we'll see about that. I'm only going to explore that later on, I mean probably like 20-30 chapters later on so I will not promise anything. At this point, she did prove Fugaku wrong-ish. she's missing some training in lightning and Wind basic release but that will be rectified soon enough. Now as for Chibi-Itachi... Oh man I can't wait until he's born. I'm going to have so much fun with him...

 **HinataSoup** , O.o. I'm just a tad confused. what do you mean by "Different backgrounds each time"?

 **CHIYuii** , You are not the only one who does ship them, that I can confirm. But it does not mean that they will be together, I'm still on the fence about who Reika will end up with if she does decide to settle down.

 **Shubhangi** , that is because usually, you have excellent timing. This time around I was off. I try to update every two weeks, but things got in the way this time  
(Sickness, School, Work, Family- the regular stuff). the way things are going right now, there is a good possibility that this chapter will be coming out on time. Thank you for your support.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18- Why Work and Friends Should Never Mingle.

"You know, I always thought your room would be somehow girly. Or it would say more about you then just boring."

I glared at the boy who was sitting on my window sill.

"What do you want, Seiichi?" I asked, silently offended. I couldn't help but look around at my Spartan room, with only Obito's owl on my neatly made bed, and Gai's world map on the wall to give character. The furniture was bare, and everything placed nicely.

"I was wondering." Seiichi trailed off before hopping into my room and moving towards my bed.

"Oh look, you do have a girly side, after all." He snicked as he took a look at the owl.

A tinge of annoyance tugged at my heart.

"Why are you here, Seiichi?" I growled again.

He looked up and shrugged.

"I was in the area…" He tried.

"Right,"

I stared at him, trying to wring the answers from his neck.

"I was bored and was looking for something to do." He confessed, flopping on my bed and grabbing the owl. "Hey, it's actually really soft."

"And so you came here?" I asked in disbelief as he cuddled it.

Yeah, my team knew where I lived, but this was the first time one of them have actively sought me out. I know I told Seiichi to come to me if he wanted to talk, But that was only if he wanted to talk.

This was just suspicious.

"Do you want to spar?" he asked.

I blinked in surprise before looking at the clock.

"I'm supposed to meet up with friends from the academy," I told him. "In half an hour."

I caught his face fall before the owl fell on his face.

"That's fine, I'll try and find Tsubasa." He said schooling his expression and getting up from the bed. I frowned as he threw the owl beside the pillows.

But I was still getting used to all these different emotions that I had been immune to for so long. That is what I blame for that crazy thought.

The thought that I said out loud.

"Do you want to come with me?"

And words that I regret so much…

-.-

"That is Youthful!" Gai cried. I rolled my eyes as Obito and Rin wiped the tears from their eyes.

"I can't believe he caught you, Reika!" Obito fell over and hit the ground.

My eyebrow twitched.

"Did Reika tell you about the Pitfall trap?" Seiichi grinned.

"No!" Rin said grinning, leaning forward towards my teammate. "Please tell us."

"How about you shut your face or I'm going to tell them about when Tsubasa and you tried to catch me for the first time."

"You are not getting out of this one!" Seiichi grinned, not phased and opened his mouth to start his tale.

"Then what about the Tomachi twins?" I hissed. "Vinegar and baking soda!"

He closed his mouth and we glared at each other sparks flying.

"You are no fun, Reika." Obito teased.

I rolled my eyes.

"But it is surprising," Rin smiled. "You've never brought anyone to see us before."

"And I regret doing it now," I muttered.

"Aww, don't be like that." Seiichi grinned. "I never thought you would have actual friends anyway."

"We are not just friends," Gai stated loudly. "We are Great Friends!"

Rin and Obito grinned again and I couldn't help the smirk that appeared. These kids really did light up my world, more then they know.

"Reika has been a lot of help to us ever since we were in the academy," Rin said to Seiichi. I looked away trying to calm the blush that dusted my cheeks.

"I didn't do anything," I told them.

"You taught me how to write." Obito grinned.

"And you taught us the best order for mathematics."

"You carry me home when I'm exhausted!" Gai yelled.

Everyone stopped and stared at him.

"My Father tells me of your youthful journeys after training." He grinned.

"Youthful journey's?" Seiichi asked.

"After Ichiraku." I sighed. "I usually pass by the academy on the way home. And this guy stays after classes and works on his taijutsu until he passes out."

"My Youthful Training works." He grinned before jumping up and pointing at me.

No.

I felt the blood drain from my face.

Just no.

"I challenge you Reika!"

"No."

"You have not even heard of what I challenge you to yet!" he exclaimed.

"Go ask Kakashi, He's back in the village," I said, trying to sick the boy on his eventual rival.

"Kakashi is back?" Rin said, brightening up.

"Yes, he got back last week," I told her, glad that I dodged that bullet. "Last I heard they were packing up their stuff from their old house and will be moving closer to the north side of town. Closer to the Akimiki, Nara and Inuzuka clan grounds. "

"Will they be safer there?" Obito asked.

I nodded.

"Sakumo-Oji-san has friends in all three clans so they won't be targeted as much as before."

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Seiichi asked. "Kakashi? Moving? Sakumo? Do you mean the White Fang? Hatake, Sakumo?"

Gai, Rin, and Obito looked over at me in question.

"Yes," I told him. "All three of us are very good friends with his son, Kakashi."

My tone was definite and had no room for argument.

"But wasn't he disgraced?" Seiichi asked, the forest suddenly became chilly. "I'm sorry, I don't know much about it. All I gather is what my parents tell me, and they are biased as Civilians."

I blinked in surprise.

"Sakumo isn't bad!" Obito said jumping up and waving his arms around. "You have to believe us. He only put the mission first because there was no way to complete the mission without them all dying. He's a Hero!"

His fists tightened.

"Everyone is blowing it out of proportion. He was their leader and his teammates argued with him instead of listening!"

Anxiety bubbled inside me as I thought of the pain that Sakumo went through. I thought of that stormy night, a kunai mark in the floor, and painful cries.

"Wow, calm down there kid," Seiichi said putting, up his hands in submission. "I believe you!"

I blinked again and was shocked at his acceptance.

"How can you accept it so readily," I asked, more curious than anything.

Seiichi scratched his chin.

"Three reasons really." He said. "The White Fang is actually one of my heroes. I've admired him ever since the Battle in Demon Desert in the second Shinobi war when he defeated not only many master puppeteers but also the second Kazekage."

I could hear the admiration in his voice.

"There are other reasons too, I mean you guys speak so highly of him. And Reika wouldn't choose to call just anyone Oji-san unless she really likes them."

I looked away trying to will away the embarrassment but didn't deny it.

"That is very true." Rin laughed. She reached over into her bag and pulled out a package of notes.

"I forgot to give them to you last week." She told me.

I looked at the pile of papers and took hold of them.

"Advanced forms of Leaf hand signs." I read out loud.

"Yeah, I did the calculations and you would have missed the information when you skipped grades." She said.

"Thanks." I turned the page and focused on the little drawings of hands on her pages.

"Are you three graduating soon?" Seiichi asked.

"Yup! And we will be getting proper missions too!" Obito said. I could almost feel the air vibrate with his excitement.

"But Obito-san," Gai said. "You have to pass to become a ninja, and you are failing theory…"

The atmosphere deflated.

I looked up from my reading to see Seiichi and Rin laughing and Obito pouting into his knees.

The boy could easily point out that Gai would also need Ninjutsu and Genjutsu but he would never do that.

An indescribable emotion passed through me and I placed the papers beside me.

"Speaking of passing," I told them. "Let's actually train a bit, Seiichi and I can gauge you guys, to see what you need to work on."

"Really?" Gai grinned jumping to his feet.

I nodded.

"Thank you very much, Reika! Seiichi-kun!" Rin smiled. Before getting up and dusting off her knees.

"Come on Obito!" she said grabbing his hands and pulling him up.

He blinked surprised at her before following her.

"Let's practice our shurikenjutsu!"

Gai grinned and immediately started to run.

"Where is he going?" Seiichi asked as the boy took off. I shrugged.

"There is something I want to let you know before we continue," I told him. He raised an eyebrow.

"Gai cannot do any jutsu or genjutsu," I told him. "He has very limited use of his chakra."

Seiichi blinked in surprise.

"Then why is he becoming a ninja?" he asked.

I smiled.

"To prove everyone one wrong."

I turned away and chased after Gai.

-.-

The next few months were calm.

We went back to D-ranks, mostly for Seiichi than anyone else.

He was better, but I could still see the faraway look that he would sometimes adopt.

And Saturdays were still individual training day.

"Where is Kushina-sensei?" I managed to say.

Managed.

"Kushina?" The yellow-haired man scratched his chin and laughed nervously. "She said that she wanted to concentrate on Seiichi-kun."

"Shadow clones?" I asked.

He shrugged.

We both sighed.

"Then I am in your care." I bowed to the older man nervously. "Namikaze-san."

You know I would have rather had Fugaku as a substitute teacher then Minato.

At least I could curse him out.

With Minato, I have no idea what I'm doing. He makes me feel like I have a schoolgirl crush.

And hopefully, it leaves soon. It's fucking annoying.

"Minato is fine, Reika-chan. Can I ask what you have been working on?" He said sitting on the ground.

"Well, I've been focusing on basic nature transformations for the past few weeks. I have all but wind mastered." I said sitting with him. "I have also been working on expanding my jutsu library in form of basic and natural. And expanding my taijutsu library."

"Your taijutsu library?" He asked. "Don't you have the Gentle fist?"

I nodded.

"But I want the element of surprise on my side."

He nodded.

"Understandable." He scratched his chin.

"What about a timing drill?" he asked.

"What do you have in mind?"

He smiled and I didn't know if it was a happy occurrence.

"You are going to hit me like you are going to punch me. Straight to my sternum. From there I am going to block then raise your arm with the back of my hand before slapping down the arm down on the outside of your right arm with my other." He said. "Then I am going to punch you and you will do the same thing to me."

I blinked immediately recognizing the drill.

There was a similar drill that I used to do with my MMA teacher, but we used wooden daggers and hit the throat. The rhythm is block, raise, slap.

I remember often forgetting what the drill was called and often called it exactly that "Block, raise, Slap." or "Tak, Tak, Tak" after the sound that it makes.

I blinked as excitement settled in my gut.

I guess I missed it.

"We are going to start slow before picked up speed." He remarked before beckoning me to punch. "Then we can insert attacks and other techniques in."

I punched and followed his hand movement. Raise, slap, punch.

I followed his movements, Raise slap punch.

We went back a forth a few times before he spoke again.

"Put more resistance into your raise." He said.

I nodded before continuing the motions and correcting my faults.

The familiar sound of skin against skin soothed me as we picked up speed.

"You are pretty good at this, Reika." Minato praised.

I pushed down the blush from his praise and instinctively followed him as he took a step back.

My pace matched his, not crossing my legs, but pushing myself forward.

I ignored his sudden interest in my moves, too busy concentrating on the new speed and keeping up with his lead in his movements.

You see these timing drills train so many different speeds. Visual and audio speeds are being tested by my eyes and ears. The touch speed by his raise and slaps. Movement speed is trained by how fast I can respond. Then my delay speed is from the time my brain realizes that something happened to my reaction.

And finally, the reaction speed.

Our tempo faltered as his slap became a twist and I ended up on my back.

His punch was probably only as an example and to scold me for being distracted during training, but I continued the flow like I would have in my past life.

The reaction speed is the time something happens to the time I react to it.

I raised and slapped it, before using my legs to push me up.

"This is obviously not the first time you have done this." Minato accused, I could hear the amusement in his voice.

"What do you mean?" I replied, following his movements without a second thought.

Thinking back, it might have even been those actions itself.

My body was in tune with timing drills.

I knew for two things in the Cage when I was alive the first time. My inability to be defeated, and those split-second entrances which I would use to pull a fast one over my opponent.

Timing drills were my thing.

A smirk played on his lips and he looked down to our hands.

I looked down as well and blinked in surprise.

"We've been at this for almost ten minutes, and you are already keeping up with me."

I knew that if I started to over think and focus on my hands, I would mess up at the speed we were going.

He tripped me, and I fell onto my back again, my eyes never leaving him, and I continued the raise slap punch with my back to the ground.

Just as I raised, I lifted myself with my other hand, getting my feet under me, and slapped the arm, never missing a beat.

"You are quite surprising." He said, finally backing away for a few seconds.

I shrugged, trying not to blush.

"Let's move onto adding attacks, then," he said amusement playing in his eyes. I stretched my arms quickly before moving forward again.

"Yes, Minato-san," I said, moving forward.

We continued at it for a long while, incorporating more attacks into the timing drill, speeding up and slowing down.

And by the time we ended, it was almost time to head out.

"Adjusting your speed is important." He told me.

"Speed can be a blessing and a curse."

I watched as he acted out the scenes.

"Being fast can also mean that your opponent just has to slow down a bit, to bypass what you are planning." He said, moving his arm too fast and letting his other hand move to touch his face.

I nodded working the kinks out of my shoulder.

"Thank you Minato-san," I said, bowing. "I have learned a lot."

And I did.

I had fun doing it too.

It reminded me of why I ever got into fighting anyway. The intensity and the flow of movements. Not necessarily hurting people but testing each other, and working with your opponent's energy.

"I didn't do much." He waved. "I introduced you to a timing drill that will help better your reflexes among other things, and your natural talent exploded."

I couldn't help the tinting that came to my cheeks.

"I call this drill the Raise, Slap, Punch Rhythmic Three Level Timing Drill." I blinked.

That's true Minato sucks at naming things…

"Thank you," I told him, before sitting down and stretching out my back.

"Ah, there is something else I wanted to ask you." He said. surprisingly, he sat with me.

"What is the matter?" I asked.

"I heard that you know Hatake, Kakashi." He said.

I froze, my arms around my ankles, nose touching the ground.

"Yes I do, why?" I looked up into his beautiful blue eyes.

"The Hokage wants to put him in under me," he admitted. "Not in a team but as an apprenticeship."

I blinked.

Already?

"Really?" I asked. "I would have thought that he would be put on a team."

Minato nodded his head.

"I agree, but the Hokage has his reasons." He shrugged. "So what I want to know is what Kakashi-kun is like."

I hummed before stretching my arm behind my head.

How to portray him.

"Proud, hard-headed and arrogant," I told Kakashi's future sensei.

"You are describing him in quite a bad light." Minato chuckled nervously.

"But he is strong, caring to those he loves, and worries more than he lets on."

I looked down and smiled.

"He's my best friend for a reason, even if he can be a bit manipulative sometimes."

I caught Minato's smirk before he got up.

"Thank you Reika-chan. It seems as if we will get along well." He dusted off his pants.

"I have to head out, but we'll meet up soon enough."

I nodded and raised a hand in goodbye.

"Good job today, Reika-chan."

I was then left with a swirl of leaves as he body flickered away.

"That's the next thing I need to know," I muttered before taking another ten minutes to finish up my stretching. "The Shunshin."

"Yes, Kushina-sensei?" I asked.

The red-haired women huffed from behind me.

"That's no fun!" she bit. "You are not supposed to know when I pop up!"

I smirked following her as she came into my field of vision.

"You have been sneaking up on me for over four months," I told her. "I'm starting to get used to your presence."

Her eyes narrowed and I suddenly felt cold.

Shit.

I shouldn't have done that.

"Than I will take that as a challenge!" she growled. "Watch your back, Reika-chan. Dattebane!"

Oops.

Was her hair starting to wave?

"So what did you come here for?" I asked her, changing the subject abruptly.

She calmed almost immediately.

Bi-polar.

I swear.

"Have you seen Minato?" she asked.

"He left about ten minutes ago," I answered.

Yes, go to your boyfriend. Take your scary-ass hair to him.

"Did he say where?" My teacher inquired.

I shook my head.

"That man can be a mystery sometimes!" she pouted her hands on her hips.

"That I can understand." I smiled, Minato was definitely someone I could not read.

She looked over and caught sight of the bruises on my forearms.

"What did you two do?" she asked leaning over to inspect them. I probably had more on my back and legs, but I wasn't complaining.

"Timing drills," I told her.

She grinned.

"Minato loves those drills." She said before poking one of the bruises.

"He's always trying to get new people in on them to practice. Since I find them too repetitive."

I frowned at her and she tried not to laugh.

"That is probably why he wanted to train you today."

"Wait, what?" I asked. "I thought you asked him to train me!"

She shook her head.

"Nope!" She said. "Minato wanted to teach you, and since I'm your sensei, I let him take over my job so I could bop Blueberry on the hair everytime he slacks off."

But why me?

 _"The Hokage wants to put him under me," he admitted. "Not as a team, but an apprenticeship."_

Was it because of that?

Did he want information?

I shrugged to myself.

I wouldn't be surprised. Minato was already known to be cunning.

"Well, I'm heading out." She said and before I knew it, she popped into smoke.

"Fucking shadow clones," I muttered.

I got up off the ground and looked at the sky. The sun was fading quickly, and it was around supper.

But my parents knew better than to set a place for me.

I walked into the village and made my way to the north where an old house was cornered between the Inuzuka and the Nara compounds. Safty tucked away from prying eyes and protected by the two clans.

It was a two story-four bedroom house, with one bathroom and forest around it.

I didn't wait at the white door but walked right in.

"Tadaima!" I called, slipping off my sandals, wincing at the bruise on the top of my foot.

"Supper is almost ready Reika," Sakumo called from the kitchen.

"You look like you were ambushed," Kakashi stated from the floor of the kitchen. He was sharpening his kunai with his sharpening stone and polishing them until they shone.

I glared at him.

"Worse," I said sitting at the table.

"What do you mean by that?" Sakumo said, he placed a carrot between his lips and chewed it.

"I thought Kushina-sensei was bad," I told him. "Obviously I had never trained with Minato-san."

Sakumo coughed, placing the knife down on the cutting board and trying to clear his airways.

He immediately went for a glass and filled it with water.

Soon his coughing was gone and only laughter replace it.

"Oh, Reika." He laughed. "You have finally met your match in perfectionism."

"Whose Minato?" Kakashi asked annoyed that we were ignoring him.

"Kushina-sensei's boyfriend," I told him before grinning in response. I got up and patted the top of his spiky white head.

"Good luck."

He rolled his eyes, not really understanding before he got up and left the room to return his kunai to his bedroom.

I cleaned up my hands and began to help Sakumo.

"So you're going back on active duty," I stated.

He missed a beat in his cutting, but I pretended not to notice and continued the stir the rice.

I was excited for Stir-fry tonight.

"How did you know that." He asked he scrapped the carrots into the sizzling wok.

"Minato-san told me that he was taking over Kakashi's training," I told him.

He nodded before throwing in the rest of the veggies, and cooked beef in the Wok, moving them around.

"Yes, I am." He said.

I looked over at his covered shoulder but didn't say much.

There was probably a tattoo under there.

"It's getting that bad out there?" I asked, keeping my voice low.

I didn't want to scare Kakashi.

"Let me worry about that, Reika." He patted my head, like a dog, before shooing me off, like the child that he thought I was.

"Go find Kakashi and get Bull and Pakun inside."

-.-

"What the hell is his problem!" Seiichi hissed as we went to our little clearing in the forest.

I rolled my eyes, keeping my own anger at bay.

"Forget about it." I emphasized the 'forget'.

"Don't you tell me to forget it" he kicked a stone into a tree as we walked.

"Those dumbasses tripped you and spat on you!" he growled.

"What happened?" Obito asked as we came into range.

"Nothing," I bit, glaring at my teammate, trying to make him shut up.

But as usual...

He doesn't fucking listen.

"Two of her 'family' members tripped her and spat on her." Anger radiated from him, just as it was me.

I gritted my teach and was about to slam my fist into his face.

"Reika!" Rin ran to me and took my hands, effectively stopping me.

"Are you okay!" She asked.

Almost instantly I felt a flood of chakra enter me.

"What the hell was that!" I asked, surprised.

She blushed before looking to the side.

"I started working on med-jutsu." She said. "That was the diagnostic jutsu."

I blinked before recalling the feeling. It was odd. It felt almost like a scanner scanning from the tips of my fingers to the tips of my hairs.

"You are covered with bruises!" she gasped. I blinked watching her face burn with anger.

"Rin…"

"Let's go bet the crap out of those guys!" Obito yelled, his own fists clenching.

"No, we are not!" I emphasized. "Rin those bruises were from training with Minato-san."

"I'm not hurt."

Her eyes watered with worry and I almost felt the need to hug her.

But I didn't have a choice in the matter. She pulled me into her, hugging my waist. I stood there awkwardly.

"That's good." She said. "I thought you would end up in the hospital again!"

Oh, that's true.

I blinked.

That's why those fuckers looked so familiar.

"Reika?" Obito asked. I looked up into the coal eyes framed with orange-tinted goggles. His expression was schooled and tight with worry. "Were they the one who attacked you the first time?"

Rin gasped and I grounded my teeth.

The one time Obito has to be fucking perceptive.

"Wait, what attack?" Seiichi asked, totally out of the loop.

"None of your business," I growled.

"When we were younger, Reika was attacked and put in the hospital by two members of her clan."

I looked more above Rin's head to see Kakashi leaning against a tree, and glared at him.

"Kakashi-kun!" Rin said removing her arms from around me, a light blush powdering her cheeks.

I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms.

"It wasn't that big of a deal," I told them, trying to brush it off.

"They broke bones and gave you a concussion," Rin growled, turning from crushing school-girl to mama bear in a second.

I was suddenly glad that Gai wasn't there.

"Then it's settled," Seiichi said looking at all of us. "We have to get payback."

"No, we will not," I emphasized. "I'll get it three times as bad!"

"Then it just won't be linked back to you," Obito said, a grin spread across his mouth. "I like the way you think, Seiichi."

Anxiety settled in my gut.

"I 'can't' be part of it." Kakashi moved towards us, before standing beside Rin.

I wonder if he knows how he affects Rin. I noticed how she shifted a bit closer to him and resisted shaking my head. She wasn't being too sneaky about it.

"And why is that?" Seiichi glared.

I sighed.

"How about we do nothing, and let it be." I hissed but was ignored, again.

"Don't be angry at Kakashi, Seiichi." Rin defended. "Reika cannot have any contact with Sakumo-san or Kakashi-kun for the time being due to Sakumo-san's reputation."

I watched Kakashi's fist curl.

He hated it, and so did I. But it was a reality, so we dealt with it.

"Tch." Seiichi crossed his arms. "So what are we doing?"

"Noth…" Rin placed a hand over my mouth to shut me up.

"Sneak up on them and beat them up?" Obito suggested.

"Prank them." Rin grinned, her hand still over my mouth.

I narrowed my eyes.

"And just how are we going to do that?" Kakashi asked.

"What the hell, Teme! You just said you can't be apart of it." Obito questioned.

"Can't" Kakashi emphasized with air quotations.

"Seiichi is our key player here," Rin said, taking charge.

The older boy blinked before grinning.

"I like the way you think." He chuckled darkly.

"Reika…" Rin asked me seriously her face turning. She slowly removed her hand. "Did you just lick my hand?"

Obito fell to the ground, laughing.

Kakashi's mask pinched lightly in amusement. Probably happy that it wasn't him subjected to my weirdness.

"What? You didn't move it…"

"We need to keep you away from Kushina-sensei," Seiichi remarked in disgust.

That might be the best choice. But I'm afraid I'm already corrupted.

-.-

It took a week of tracking and planning before the trap was set.

It was simple.

A pitfall with a couple of Seiichi's seals.

Simple…

I looked down at the bottom of the pitfall and felt somewhat unsettled.

"Why is there a duck at the bottom of the hole?" I asked the kids.

Obito and Rin thought it was the funniest thing ever.

"Why not?" Tsubasa said, pushing up his sunglasses. "Seiichi thought it would be funny."

I sighed before looking at the guy who I don't know why he was even invited.

"And why are you here?" I asked, slightly pissed off.

"We are a team, and therefore we work together." He said simply. His hands raised itself over the pit and a number of bugs flew from him and into the hole.

"That ought to do the trick," Seiichi said from beside us. He took out a tag and threw onto in the opening.

I activated my Byakugan and watched as the seal attached itself to a threat of chakra strings.

"So that is how you do it," I muttered.

"Now we just have to wait." Obito grinned.

"Woof."

I scratched Bull's ear and looked at all of my friends. Seiichi and Obito were over exaggerating what they think their expression was going to be. And Tsubasa and Rin were standing by smiling in amusement. Kakashi wasn't here, but not by choice, the Hokage had summoned him, and could only think of one reason why.

But Bull helped us out with digging the pitfall, so that helped.

"So what did you put in the storage scroll?" Tsubasa asked. "Why do I know about it? I saw you place the trigger."

This time, it was Rin who giggled.

"Everything but the kitchen sink," Seiichi responded.

Obito, Tsubasa looked at each other in question, while I dreaded the words, knowing the expression.

"What does that mean?"

"Just what it sounds."

"Do you even know what you are doing?" I asked them, kind of annoyed. But also weirdly touched, that they would go out of their way to get revenge for me.

"You know, the first rule about being unpredictable is if you don't know what you are doing, you are doing it right. Cause if you don't, no one else will." He snickered.

…

I sorted through the memories of my shadow clone from the safety of my bedroom.

Once again the only one missing was Kakashi and his ninken.

I looked over at Rin and Seiichi and grounded my teeth.

"Where did you find all that stuff?" I asked them. They bursted out laughing.

"Reika!" Obito whined. "Tell us already!"

"Please do," Tsubasa asked from my desk chair. Seiichi and Rin, who had took my owl hostage, sat my bed while Obito and I claimed the floor.

"Five loaves of bread, two flopping fish. A tree trunk, a bar of hairy soap, six pairs of dirty socks, half-eaten candy bars, carrots and pickled beets."

I took a deep breath before continuing.

"Half-eaten candy, 30 rubber ducks, a real duck, a dog and a cat."

I looked over at Seiichi.

"Where the hell did you find, Tama?" I asked him, I could see Tsubasa paling.

Oh, Tama.. the predecessor to Tora.

And you all know who Tora is.

"And 100 hallucinogenic beetles." Rin smiled.

I looked at Tsubasa and raised an eyebrow.

"That is what you were doing there..."

Everyone erupted in a round of laughter and I couldn't help but smile. They were all so precious. They mean so much and are worth their weight in diamonds.

I don't deserve them.

Obito bumped my shoulder.

"Was there really 30 rubber ducks?"

I shook my head in disbelief.

Later that night when my father complained about two branch members high on hallucinogens running from training ground 14 yelling about a demon cat, fish, a duck and other crazy stuff smelling like week-old socks and purple robes before getting picked up by the Uchiha police force.

I tried hard to stop the laughter that came from me.

-.-

"Is your team up for another C-rank."

I resisted the urge to look over at our trapper.

"Hai," Kushina-sensei grinned. "Sounds good."

The desk ninja through her a scroll before shooing us off.

"What the mission about?" I asked moving to Kushina's side.

I didn't comment on the twitch in Seichi's arm.

I stood on my tippy-toes but still lacked the height to see the scroll.

"Hunting animals," Tsubasa asked reading over her other shoulder.

The prankster finally commented.

"Animals?"

"Oh," Kushina grinned, "This is perfect."

I immediately began to get suspicious.

"Go home and pack for two days." She instructed. "We are heading to the north."

"North?" I asked.

"It seems like someone forgot to close one of the gates and let some the animals from training ground 44 out." She laughed.

I groaned before walking away.

"That is just great!" I muttered. "I thought I finished dealing with them!"

"You have experience with them?" Tsubasa asked.

"Understatement."

"Good, this will be easier then," Kushina said. "Go pack, and meet me in front of the main gate in an hour."

I sighed.

-.-

Tsubasa's bugs were a blessing.

We tracked them using their footprints, while his bugs were able to fly ahead and scout out front.

I kicked the back of the tiger tipping it over and into the trip wire that Seiichi had placed not even an hour before. It sliced through the paw and I delivered the final blow to the heart with my kunai.

Looking around I noticed Kushina strangling a large-ass bear and Seiichi and Tsubasa over the sliced up carcass of a huge ass centipede.

"And that should be it," Kushina said letting go of the suffocated bear.

"All three animals, dead." She hummed before sealing each corps into a scroll and putting it in her bag.

"Well done team."

"For some reason, this seems too easy," Seiichi stated rolling back up the traps he set that morning.

I watched his expression carefully, but he seemed to be okay. Even if they were 'just' animals. They were living beings, so I did not want him to get flashbacks because of it.

Kushina shrugged.

"It's a typical C-Rank gone right." She said. "Alright team, As soon as Blueberry is done with retrieving his traps, we can get on the road home."

"I'm going as fast as I can!" Seiichi muttered.

I moved over to him silently before helping him disassemble the traps that I had seen him put up.

Thanks," he said snatching a stun-tag from a thread of wire.

I didn't say anything else as I helped, and completely ignored the smile on Kushina's face as Tsubasa joined us.

We were finally acting like a real team.

-.-

The next night, saw me walking away from bringing Gai home when I was stopped.

"Anbu-san," I said, acknowledging his presence as I passed by.

It wasn't hard to know who it was, even with the wolf mask on his face. The hair was a big give away.

He nodded to the little forest to the side and I followed him out of sight.

I wasn't surprised when Sakumo took off the mask and faced me.

"Hello, Reika."

"Hi, Oji-chan" I answered before nodding to the uniform.

"Are you going somewhere?" I asked.

He scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah, I have a mission." He admitted. "I'll be gone a few weeks."

I nodded.

"Thought as much, " I admitted.

"Can you do me a favor?" he asked.

I crossed my arms.

"Kakashi will be fine," I told him. "I'll stay over when I can."

The stress marks vanished and Sakumo smiled.

"Why was I even worried." He shook his head. "I know you are mature for a seven-year-old. Little chibi adult."

"Don't start calling me that," I growled.

The man laughed before raising a hand in goodbye.

"Thank you, Reika-chan."

He faded into the night but I still heard his last remark.

"Please don't burn down my house."

I grinned before turning back to where I had come.

No promises.

-.-

"…"

I stared at Kakashi, munching on an apple, and looking straight into his eyes without flinching.

"What is this?" he asked slightly annoyed.

"A Good night to you, too." Rin giggled as she took out the carrot muffins out from the oven.

"Don't touch!" She slapped Obito's hand away from them.

I could hear the snoring coming from the living room where I had thrown Gai.

Dai's face was priceless when I told him that I needed Gai back.

"Why are you here?" he said annoyed.

I smiled handing over my apple core to Bull who sat at my feet. Pakun had taken up residence with Gai, sleeping.

"Your dad came to me and told me to take care of you, so I brought company," I said smugly.

I could see the twitching of his eye, indicating that I had gotten under his skin.

Obito sulked back to the table, where I had him lay out his theory books.

"Why do I need to know Nature theory anyway?" He muttered. "As soon as I get my Sharingan I'll be able to copy all jutsu anyway."

Kakashi snorted in disbelief.

"What was that Baka-Kashi!" the Uchiha shouted.

"I said you're an idiot if you don't understand that you will never master technique by just copying it." Kakashi shot back.

I grinned at the chaos I created.

"Faster!" Gai shouted from the living room.

"Great" Kakashi muttered. "That imbecile is here too."

"Lighten up, Kakashi," I said. "Have some fun."

I watched as Rin put a plate with cooling muffins on the table.

"Or have a muffin." I shrugged taking one. "It's almost the same thing."

I took a bite and almost dropped it because of the heat,

"Reika!" Rin hissed. "I just finished telling Obito that they were hot!"

"But they are good," I muttered.

Kakashi sighed but sat next to me, no longer complaining. We won, and he totally lost to us.

This was going to be the best sleepover ever.

... A very long sleepover.

This was the pattern that we adopted for the next few weeks.

Using Kakashi's house as a base, all of us, including Seiichi and Tsubasa at some points, lived there. My shadow clones were the only thing that stopped my clan from being suspicious.

And if Sakumo came home to a living room covered with blankets, including one placed like a tent, he didn't say anything.

I would know, I was up reading a book on Kiri's standard taijutsu, one hand petting Bull's soft fur with his snoring calming me. Everyone else was under the make-shift tent. Kakashi and Obito were actually cuddled up together and I was actually sad that I didn't have a camera. It would have been great blackmail material. Rin was on the couch with Pakun sleeping against the curve of her body. Gai was laying on the other side, one of his feet off the cushion and in Obito's face. No wonder why the kid looked knocked out. Seiichi and Tsubasa were leaning against the couch sleeping, with the former slowly falling over.

He blinked a few times clearly exhausted if the bags under his eyes were a hint. He shook his head.

"Tadaima." He chuckled.

"Okaeri," I said back, flipping my book closed and putting it next to me. I curled up half on Bull as I was still small enough to not be too heavy.

With the adult home, I could now go to bed.

Afterall, I would protect these kids with my life.

All of them.

-.-

Hello Lovely Readers!

I am a few days later than expected, but here is the next chapter.

If any of you are interested, the drill that Minato and Reika practiced is an actual drill that can be found in some martial arts. While I have practiced the drill itself, I could not find many videos on it. If you want to see it explained a bit better, you can find it in the Wing Chun youtube videos. Lesson 24- the Punch Drill.

This weeks question is: Are you guys okay with how I'm portraying Sakumo?

I would also like to start something new. Every chapter I'm going to recommend a Fanfiction that I'm currently reading. If you have read one that is similar or you think that i will like, feel free to recommend it to me too. I'm always looking for new fanfiction to read!  
This week's is: _Genma Shiranui: Mother Hen Extraordinaire_ By **Varmint**  
If you are looking to laugh, this is a fanfiction for you.

Thank you all for the Views, Favorites, Follows, and Reviews.

Love you all,  
Ravenmocker6.

 **Dark Rose Charm** , Thing is... Reika can't tell him. She has no way to tell him that Danzo is the culprit. The Rokuro never told her that it's Root that is going after her, not regular Anbu. Hmm, that is assuming she lives that long...

 **Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf** , She has never had a conversation with Kurenai, but they were in the same Academy class. Rin and Obito are actually friends with her. Mikoto she has not met yet, but I'll be sure to include her in a few chapters.

 **Silverlined Pheonix** , She is, isn't she? but keep in mind that she is actually 32 years old and has a little over 20 years of combat experience. Like I told **Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf** Mikoto will be coming in a few chapters, don't you worry. As for Kisame... I have a master plan with his name on it, but it is going to take a while for him to come up. The shit-storm has to hit first before he can pop up.

 **LadyDV011** , Your Wish is my command.

, I think so too! Honestly, I can't wait for this part to be over. Since after this the clouds will start to swirl, indicating the storm to come! Enjoy!

 **xiu** , Here you go!

 **lizyeh2000** , Happy Belated Birthday! I wish I could have posted this on your birthday!

 **Maxine** , I KNOW! I do the same thing! Once I start, it's hard to stop!... Speaking of homework I have two essays I have to get done for this week... I guess I should start soon.

 **XBnemesis** , I Missed you! I haven't heard from you in months! But I can understand where you are coming from, School sucks! Oh trust me, Obito felt the pain! Sakumo deserves to live. As for Kushina, that is still a work in progress. I can't promise that she will live, but I will try. I haven't seen that either, I figured I'd give it a try. Ken'ichi is a great character, and we don't get very many characters from Hiruzen and Danzo's generation. That is very true, being a powerhouse is very useful but at the same time, it is flawed. You will always be put into insane situations which could very much destroy your very being. Being a powerhouse also paints a big ass target on your back. That Fugaku will, if anything, he will recognize her 'genius' and respect her. ChibiTachi... I'm gushing already. I can't wait to write him!


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19- Anxiety

At the time, I didn't understand.

And honestly, I still don't.

Why do the good ones always seem to die first?

I shoveled more ramen into my mouth half listening to the gossip around me. Kushina and my teammates were chatting about another one our successful C-rank, but my attention was not on them. It was on the Jonin right outside the stand.

"I can't believe that the southwestern border has been hit," one said.

"I know, half the border camp was wiped out, a couple of my academy classmates were killed there." The other said. I could hear the grief in his voice.

"I bet it was Suna!" the other one hissed.

There was a pause.

"We don't know, while they were definitely high-level ninja, they didn't use any wind techniques nor did they wear any village symbol."

"Damn."

Why is it that the good die first?

I took another bite, of my food.

It won't be much longer.

"Rei-chan!"

I ignored the voice.

Not long at all.

I could even see the Hokage calling all of us to the tower right now to tell us that the war has begun.

"Are you back with us yet?"

Any day now.

I lifted my bowl and drank up the soup.

"I'm listening." I turned to my teacher, picking up my glass of water.

"I'm signing you up for the Chunin Exams."

I coughed on the liquid and looked at her suspiciously.

"The Chunin exams are only in June, it's April," I said. "Why are you telling us this now?"

She grinned.

"So we can get you three prepared, Dattebane."

Butterflies hit my stomach.

Seiichi grinned.

"That's great!" he said. "We are going to be chunin, Tsubasa!"

The bug boy pushed up his glasses, a small smile on his lips.

"That is if we pass," Tsubasa said despite the excitement in his voice.

"Where is it, this year?" I asked.

Kushina hummed.

"Sunagakure," She said. "I wouldn't trust any other village to host them otherwise."

Of course not, Iwa hates us, Kumo wants bloodline limits, and Kiri wants to kill them all.

I blinked in confusion.

Actually, the Bloodline wars only start with Yagura… so Kiri should be fine at the moment.

But I still don't trust it.

Anxiety built up again. I don't even trust Suna right now. We don't have a very good relationship with them after Sakumo killed Sasori's parents and the Second Kazekage.

Speaking of Sasori, He should be defecting soon.

"Reika!"

"Yes?" I asked.

"What's got you so distracted?" Seiichi asked.

"I'm still hungry." I looked over at Tsuchi-san.

"Can I have another one please?"

I didn't even have to lie.

-.-

"Taidaima," I called walking into my house.

It was quiet. Almost too quiet.

I took off my sandals at the door and walked up the hallway, into the living room.

In was almost in total darkness other than the sunlight coming from the kitchen porch.

"Okaa-san, Otou-san?" I called.

I walked into the kitchen to see an empty table and the back door open.

I peeked out and saw my father going through gentle-fist katas.

"Hello Otou-san," I said moving to sit on the porch.

"Welcome home Reika." He said before finishing up.

"Is Okaa-san on a mission?" I asked, sneaking a bite of the crackers he had placed on a tray with his own green tea.

My father smiled at me and pat my head. I scrolled, not liking the kid treatment.

"Yes, She has been sent to the Border."

My blood froze.

"Which?" I asked. He shook his head.

"We are not allowed to know." He said.

She could be going to the Kumo border.

"Is War official yet?" I asked him.

A strong emotion flew passed his eyes, and I was sure it was fear.

"Not yet." He admitted.

I looked down at the ground.

"What is taking them so long," I growled. "This anticipation is killing me."

"Politics," he emphasized. "And who is going to make the first move."

"Tch."

I leaned back on my hands.

"Enough." He stepped back. "Get up I'm teaching you the next step in the trigram formation."

I cocked my head to the side.

"The 32 palms?" I hummed, swinging my feet.

He nodded.

"I already know it."

He almost tripped on a rock.

"What?" he asked in surprise. "Did your mother teach you it already?"

An unfamiliar emotion rose up within me, and I hesitated to shake my head.

"Then who showed you?"

"I figured it out myself."

His response was immediate.

"Show me."

I jumped off the porch and got into position.

Almost immediately I performed the technique. Every hit filled with the right amount of chakra. Every step and turn not overextended nor too short.

I finished and turned to my father for criticism.

He was silent, lost in thought.

I stood there watching the man who raised me. His face was stoic, but I could see the pride burn in his eyes.

"If only I was born a few minutes earlier," He started.

"Then you would be recognized as the genius heir of the Hyuga clan."

I couldn't help but touch my forehead.

"Is there anything I can do to clean up my form?" I said, trying to steer us away from that topic.

There was nothing we could do about it.

He shook his head.

"You are seven years old and have mastered the 32 palm trigram formation." He smiled, "My genius of a daughter."

"Otou-san." I groaned.

He laughed but walked over and pushed me back a bit with his finger.

"Let's spar a bit." He said. "I have an hour before I have to head out."

I blinked but stepped back.

"Where are you going?" I asked like it wasn't obvious.

"Border."

Dread filled me.

"How long are you and Okaa-san going to be deployed for?"

"At least a month."

I nodded in understanding, stomping down the anger that threatened to rise.

Why are my parents being taken again…

"I hate leaving you like this." He sighed. "If there is anything, you know who to contact."

I nodded.

I'm to stay with Sakumo undercover. If not I go to Kushina or my teammate's place and worst case to Hiashi.

I scoffed as if I would do that.

"Position, Reika." He said.

We sparred for the next forty minutes. Tiring ourselves, or rather myself, out and spending quality time together before he had to leave.

I gave him a big hug and held on tight.

I didn't want him to leave.

My fists curled around his armor.

"Come home, Tou-chan," I whispered.

He froze before gripping me harder.

"I can't promise that." He said honestly.

"I'm not expecting you to," I answered. "I just want you to try. I don't want to be left alone."

He kissed my forehead and brushed my long hair out of my eyes.

"I will try, my little genius." He said. "Send us letters."

I nodded before he got up and put on his mask.

"I love you." He said before disappearing.

"I love you too," I replied to thin air.

-.-

 _My body was cold._

 _The temperature was probably normal, that I know, but my hairs were standing, goosebumps forming all along my arms._

 _I felt just as cold as the body lying on the hospital bed in front of me._

 _I had texted my brother and mother four hours ago._

 _But they had yet to arrive._

 _Why was I surprised?_

 _The body exhaled and I pressed my hands to my forehead, my eyes still on the body._

 _My phone buzzed again, Karoline begging me to answer her._

 _My MMA teacher as well, asking if I was coming tonight, he needed help beating the cockiness out of the newbies._

 _My eyes traveled to the face, fully expecting to see blond hair and dull unblinking green eyes._

 _Just as I remember that night so well._

 _My chair flew back and my heart jumped into my throat._

 _"_ _Otou-san!" I cried seeing black hair and pale eyes, with bandages on his forehead._

I cried out and flung my blankets off my body.

No.

No.

He isn't dead.

I touched my cheeks shocked by the tears that were running down them.

How the hell did these people worm their way into my heart?

I jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom.

Kneeling in front of the toilet, I heaved.

Acid burned the back of my throat, and my stomach emptied.

Once finished, I laid my forehead on the ceramic seat.

I was not going to get any sleep, that I'm sure.

I quickly brushed my teeth before getting dressed in full attire and fled my house.

I couldn't stay there.

Honestly, I didn't know where I was going either.

Any other day, I would have immediately gone to Sakumo's house, but for some reason, I just didn't feel like it.

I could see the few ninjas that were using the rooftops bouncing around. Probably communicating with the borders.

Okaa-san

Otou-san.

I sighed before looking up.

What was I thinking?

Shrugging, I walked passed the Uchiha compound walls, allowing my feet to take me passed tradition houses that looked oddly similar to the Hyuga.

Soon enough I found myself knocking on a foreign apartment door.

"It's 5:00 what do you want?" A whiny voice came from behind the door.

The lock clicked and I was looking into the cobalt black eyes of my favorite Uchiha.

"Reika-chan?" he asked.

Why did I come here?

"Can I crash on your couch?" I asked. "Can't sleep at home."

Obito blinked a few times. My eyes turned to his attire, and I tried not to laugh at his shuriken Pajamas.

"Come on in," he said.

"Sorry for the intrusion."

I took off my sandals and moved into his home.

It was quite spotless. Nothing out of place, with a few photos on the walls. I couldn't help but see a photo of a young Obito and an older woman in some of them.

His grandmother.

That is true. He lived with her.

"Is this okay?" I asked following him into the hallway. I suddenly felt like I was intruding into a space I never should have.

"I didn't mean to wake you…"

Obito shrugged.

"My grandmother is a civilian and a heavy sleeper." He said yawning. "Don't worry."

He grabbed my hand and pulled me to the closest room.

I blinked, realizing it was his own. Clothes were thrown all over, kunai and shuriken were on the desk, a few scrolls open under them.

My eye caught a photo of my birthday with everyone, sans-Kakashi, smiling over cake. It was odd looking into my own face. His googles sat next to the photo, on his kunai pouch.

"Hop on in," he said pointing to his bed.

I raised an eyebrow.

"I can sleep on the floor or the Couch," I said. "I don't mind..."

"Go to sleep already," he muttered sleepily, barely awake.

"This won't be the first time we shared a bed."

I blinked in surprise before doing as he asked, seeing the truth in his words. I removed my weapons and headband from my hips and placed it next to the photo and his own.

I crawled into his double bed and settled into the warm sheets.

My favorite Uchiha slid under the sheets next to me.

The heat from his body beside me calmed my nerves and I couldn't help but exhale the stress that accumulated in my body.

"Thanks, Sunshine."

"I won't ask." He muttered, half asleep. "But know I'm always here for a friend."

I smiled softly, and within a few minutes, I followed him into dreamland.

-.-

The next few weeks had me sleeping at various people's houses.

More often then not, it was Kakashi and Sakumo's place, but I've ended up at Obito's and even Rin's orphan apartment, at times without realizing.

She was ecstatic, never really having anyone over. And sharing her home with someone, even if it was only for the night, was fun for her.

If I showed up to training with purple nail polish on the next day, I reserved my right to remain silent.

Even if Seiichi and Kushina were laughing at me.

Tsubasa just shook his head, clearly amused.

I had banished the thought of going to my teammates or Gai's house before it had even formed, I would not be able to stand Gai for that long and I didn't know the family of my teammates.

The next day, Sakumo was sent to the Border as well, and thus we all set up in Kakashi's living room once again.

"What?" Obito cried.

"You are taking the Chunin exams?" Kakashi asked, surprised.

"Yes, Kushina-sensei is very animate about us taking part," Tsubasa said stroking one of Kakashi's new puppies.

Sakumo had gotten him two this time.

I watched Tsubasa scratch the brown floppy ear of Bisuke, a spaniel mix.

"Wait, that means you will be chunin before we even graduate!" Rin cuddled Shiba, the silver Shiba Inu mix to her chest, the dog completely asleep.

I leaned back into the huge warm body that attached himself to me from the moment I walked in.

The big baby licked my arm before going back to sleep and I watched Pakun patted into Kakashi's lap.

"It's a high possibility," Seiichi said. "But hey we still have at least a month to train for it."

"True."

"Anyway," Rin asked from beside Kakashi and Seiichi. "Where is Gai?"

I shrugged.

"Doing Gai stuff."

"Kakashi, my Rival!" We heard the door open and a body barrel in.

"You spoke too soon," Obito snikered.

I sneaked a grin at him.

"That I did, Sunshine."

"Can you not call me that!" The Uchiha whined making everyone laugh.

"What do you want Gai?" The silver-haired kid deadpanned.

A grin appeared on his face.

"I challenge you to a race." He yelled pointing at the boy.

All of us blinked in surprise.

"A race?"

I pulled a blanket from the couch and covered all of myself.

"I'm not here," I muttered to Tsubasa and Obito.

Tsubasa cracked a smirk and Obito smiled leaning over to scratch Bisuke's head.

"Yes!" Gai gave him a thumbs up and I watched Kakashi's face fall, through my peek-hole.

"No," he said.

"He means 'yes,'" I said a bit louder. "You two should race to the top of the Hokage monument."

Gai grinned before grabbing Kakashi's arm.

"Be youthful, Kakashi!"

And then they were gone.

"Reika…" Seiichi asked, almost like he didn't believe what he just saw.

"Hmm?" I let my breath match that of Bull's as his whole body moved.

I was comfy. Very comfy.

"Did you just…."

"Sacrifice the Teme?" Obito finished.

I hid my grin.

"Maybe…"

"You are no longer allowed near Kushina-sensei," Tsubasa said. "Why? She is corrupting you."

Bisuke whimpered at the loss of attention.

"I agree, Bisuke!" Pakun said moving from where he was launched, towards Seiichi. He touched his right front paw to the Blueberry. "Aren't they soft?"

We laughed.

None of us hearing Kakashi's screams.

-.-

I evaded to the left just enough for Seiichi's fist to pass my head.

I felt bad, but the kid was just too open.

I slammed my fist into his stomach causing him to bend over. Almost immediately I lifted my leg and I kicked him up into the air.

Tiger, boar, ox, dog, snake.

Replacement jutsu.

I got out of the way just in time before Tsubasa launched a barrage of kunai at me.

I flipped back, landing within range for my next attack.

Eight trigrams 16 palms.

Seiichi groaned as his back hit a tree.

Immediately, I launched a kunai back. Tsubasa ducked and rebounded off a tree,

A light buzzing noise came from my left. I jumped up and away just in time to avoid being swarmed with chakra eating bugs. I hit the treetops and hid out of his sight. Making a few clones I hid my chakra signature and took off into the forest.

"Good luck, Tsubasa!" Seiichi moaned from the tree I hit him into. One of my clones intercepted the swarm, distracting it while the other got into direct confrontation with Tsubasa.

I watched from the treetop above him.

Honestly. Both of these kids sucked in hand to hand combat. Seiichi excelled in the pre-fight aspect of battle, where he would prepare the ground around him to his advantage. Tsubasa was strong in sense of using his Kekkai Genkai, he was great at tracking ans sensing. But despite Kushina trying to beat it into him, literally, his physical prowess was still lacking.

Tsubasa dodged one of my clone's kicks, sending out another swarm to claim it's chakra system.

His movements put me right above him.

As my clone poped I descended onto his back, a kunai to his neck.

"And Rei-chan takes the win!" Kushina grinned from beside Seiichi.

"Again…" Tsubasa muttered.

I got up off my teammate and helped him up.

"Nice try," I told him.

I wasn't being cocky, it was the structure of our team. I was the heavy hitter, so I needed to be the best fighter here. It was my job to be able to keep our enemies busy so that the others could capture him.

He sighed.

"Not really." He said. "It would have been nice if I won."

"Enough of that," Kushina said as she and Seiichi joined us.

"Rei-chan is our powerhouse, its normal that she kicks butt." Our team leader said.

I shrugged before sending out a flair, canceling the rest of the clones that were running from the bugs.

A new beetle flew out from Tsubasa's coat and landed on my shoulder.

The last one had died, living 5 months while this one had been visiting me for the last few months already. I recognized her from the purple shine to her back.

A loud screech pulled me out of my thoughts and all four of us looked up.

"A mission?" Seiichi asked.

"That is odd, we never get missions assigned to us specifically," Tsubasa stated. "Why? It is because we are still Genin."

I nodded and watched the eagle with the Hokage's crest on its breast circle above us.

"Yes!" Kushina grinned. Her fists clenched and she pumped her arms. "Let's get going team, Dattebane!"

I let my worry be pushed down, unsure why my anxiety was acting up.

I followed behind my boys who were chatting, both of them grinning.

-.-

"Under normal circumstances, I would not be giving Genin a B-rank mission." The Hokage said.

We stood in front of his desk, Kushina in back of us and grinning.

"But at any other time this would be a C-rank as well, but due to the upcoming war, we must be cautious."

I held my hands behind my back, awaiting instruction. The severity of the situation bearing down on me.

"Nice, But why us? Why not get a Chunin team?" Seiichi asked.

"Like quite a few of our upper-class ninja, a lot of our chunin are at the border. The rest are working other missions or in key places in the village." The Hokage answered before putting his pipe back into his mouth.

He inhaled the smoke and suddenly my mouth became dry.

I swallowed before kicking down the urge.

How the hell did addictions cross lives, anyway?

Is it because of my mind is the same? Did urges land in the domain of the mind rather than the body?

My Purple beetle friend landed back on my shoulder and tapped my neck.

Realising where I was, I nodded to Tsubasa, thanking him for waking me up.

"Your job is to escort Ryouta-san to the mining village close to the Valley of the End." He said.

"Ryouta is a merchant that we deal with concerning precious metals, such as iron, among other things."

I nodded understanding. The Iron ore is the main ingredient in creating weapons.

I swallowed, my nervousness not fading.

We were going to be about a days run away from the Kumo border, two from Iwa.

Okaa-san. Otou-san. Sakumo-Oji-san.

I wonder if any of them were there.

"Kushina-chan." He said, "When you get there, you will have a shipment to pick up for us to bring back."

She nodded.

"You need my sealing abilities to be able to lug it all back." she grinned. "No problem."

The Hokage smiled.

"Thank you, I'm counting on you."

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

We turned to leave.

"And please remember." He said before we could walk out the door. "if you see any foreign ninja, you are not to engage but to get to the border and tell the commander of the battalion as soon as possible."

I heard the unspoken message loud and clear.

Do not risk your lives.

Of course not, he doesn't want the Kyuubi out of control.

I blinked as we walked out of the office.

That's true, Kushina is the Jinchuriki of the Nine-tails.

I shrugged before tuned into what Kushina was saying.

"Pack well," she said. "Seiichi, bring a lot of supplies. We are going to want to majorly booby trap the camps. Tsubasa, make sure your hive is well prepared."

The boys nodded.

"You two can start preparing we leave tomorrow morning, 7:00 am sharp at the gates." She said.

The boys walked away, Seiichi talking, both of them excited to be going on another higher mission.

I wish I could be as excited as them.

"Reika, come with me," Kushina said.

I narrowed my eyes and followed her out of the tower by jumping from the stairs to the street.

We walked to a little café and I blinked in surprise as we sat down.

"Can I get you something?" the waitress said.

"Green tea for both of us and an order of dango." My teacher ordered. The waitress fled soon after.

"Why are we here, Kushina-sensei," I asked, getting somewhat annoyed.

I had a few letters to write. I had to go see at least Kakashi to tell him I was leaving. Maybe stopping by Obito's and Rin's place, to see how they were doing. They would tell Gai.

A small surge of chakra came from the table and the outside world became muffled.

"There is a reason I like this restaurant." She grinned. "It caters to Shinobi."

I blinked before realizing exactly what she did.

"Dampening seals," I told her.

She nodded. "And a genjutsu seal."

The waitress brought us our order, and did not comment on the seals and leaving just as fast without us saying anything.

"There is something I have to clear with you," Kushina said, pouring the tea.

Her tone was serious.I hadn't seen her this serious since Seiichi killed for the first time.

"Okay." I leaned back, not touching the tea and stared at her.

Kushina scratched her head.

"Minato's better at talking subtlely so I'm going to say this bluntly." She stopped her scratching and took a deep breath.

Like usual.

"We are going near Kumo territory." She started. "And they have a thing for bloodlines."

I moved my head.

"Okay?" I said, confused.

"If Kumo sees that you are alone, and unprotected, they will do anything to get their greedy paws on you." She said.

I deadpanned.

"My eyes are sealed Kushina-sensei."

"That is not what I mean."

I narrowed my eyes at her tone. It was serious and seemed almost personal.

"I'm one of the last Uzumaki's in the world, Reika." She emphasized, "They came into Kohona and abducted me right after the second ninja war."

"They can't get my Doujutsu, Sensei," I said tension running from my body. "You don't have to worry."

And I thought this was serious.

"Reika, you are a girl. There are other ways to get a blood limit, even if they have to wait until you hit puberty."

Oh.

I took a large sip of the tea and a bite of my dango.

I hate being a girl. Have I ever said that before?

"Heed my warning, Reika." She said. "They almost got me. I don't want you to be put in that position either."

She finished her tea and stuck her whole stick of dango in her mouth, leaving the end hanging out.

A few bills landed on the table and she got up.

"Don't forget to leave a note for your parents, before you head out."

I was left with a half eaten dango, half-empty cup, and an empty chair.

I rubbed my face and schooled my expression.

I better get packing.

-.-

"Thank you, where am going with this?" he asked me taking the letters.

"All three to the border, please," I said to the desk ninja.

He nodded.

"To whom?" he asked.

"Hizashi Hyuga. Satomi Hyuga, and Sakumo Hatake." I said.

He nodded and wrote a few things down. And placed them all in the same bag.

Did that mean all three of them are together?

I inhaled and left the office.

I doubt it.

"Reika-chan!" Rin grinned. She waved as I went down the stairs of the Hokage tower and caught up to me.

"Good morning, Rin," I said surprised, I shrugged my bag a bit more comfortable on my shoulder. "What are you doing here?"

"To say good-bye, silly." She said. "You will be leaving for over a week, and I fell asleep early so I didn't make it to Kakashi's last night!"

I shrugged.

"I'll be back." I deadpanned.

"Let me say goodbye." She scolded.

I shook my head and started to walk towards the gates, Rin trailing beside me. I was going to be early anyway, I might as well have some company.

"When you get back, do you think you can help me with some training?" she asked.

I blinked.

"Of course but why me?"

Red tainted her cheeks.

"Well, you are always training with either your team, Kakashi or Obito, and I figured we could have some girl time."

"Are you jealous?" I teased.

She frowned.

"And if I am?" she said. "I am your only female friend!"

I blinked realizing that she was right.

"What about Kushina-sensei?" I said, trying to prove her wrong. She raised an eyebrow.

"Sensei…"

I sighed.

"You are going to drag me out to meet other girls aren't you?" I asked.

She grinned.

"Kurenai is great! So is Anko, she skipped a few grades like you so she will be graduating with us."

I sighed.

This is troublesome.

Kurenai is a genjutsu master, and Anko will be a future, tame Orochimaru.

I really don't want to deal with the later.

Kurenai, I wouldn't mind as much.

"I think I remember Kurenai, she does have red eyes right?" I asked.

She nodded.

"She's doing a bit poorly at the moment, so she could use some help."

"Are you saying that I should be your guys' tutor or something?" I asked, calling her out on her bull shit.

"That too," she grinned. "Good idea."

I took a deep breath, controlling my annoyance. She set me up to seem like I was offering.

We stopped near the interior of the gates and sat against them.

I didn't have to wait long before Tsubasa arrived, his own bag on his shoulders.

"You are early." He said looking at me.

I looked up at the sun, reading the time.

"Only by 15 minutes," I told him. "I just got here. I had to send a few letters."

He nodded.

"My mother will be sending one to my father later today."

"Where is he?" Rin asked.

"Border."

I almost snorted at the irony.

Everyone is at the border, it seems.

"Your parents are at the border too," Rin remarked to me. "Do you think they are together?"

I shook my head.

"Sensor-nins are probably split between all borders. They are the key to detecting an attack." I replied.

I felt eyes on me and looked up to see the last of the trio barely walking up to us.

"Good morning." He muttered, his right hand scratching the back of his head.

I watched his feet dragged on the ground, clearly tired.

Maybe it was a good idea that he didn't sleepover at Kakashi's last night with us. He would have been impossible to wake up.

"What woke you up on the wrong side of the bed?"

"My little sister."

I blinked in surprise.

"You have a sister?" I asked, shocked.

"Yeah, the little twerp is turning 3 in September."

I winced.

"So she's two," Rin said, grinning. "Aww."

He glared.

"She's turning three." He growled. "As she woke me up at 3:00 am to tell me."

Tsubasa coughed into his hand, covering up his grin.

I didn't try to hide my amusement.

"And you listened to her?" I shifted my weight. "You are such a good big brother."

I snickered as his expression darkened.

"Screw you., He bit. "You don't react when a little finger pokes you in the nose and screams in your ear!"

Rin bursted out laughing along with me and I felt a small flicker of familiar chakra.

"Maybe I should wash your mouth out with soap, Dattebane!" Kushina threatened, appearing beside him and Tsubasa. They both jumped. Seiichi looking away innocently.

"All right team!" she said putting her hands on her hips. "Let's meet our client, Ryouta-san."

She moved to the side and I gazed upon an ordinary man.

He had shaggy brown hair and green eyes. He was dressed in an ordinary tan shirt and brown pants. He was built short but thick, looking almost like a tall 'dwarf.' It would work with his occupation. I mentally rolled my eyes at the comparison.

"Ryouta-san, this is team 6. Starting from the left, This is Glasses, Blueberry and Rei-chan."

We all sighed at the nicknames before Tsubasa stepped up.

"Please don't look down on us, we will protect you with our lives." He said. "why would you? Because of our age and the silly nicknames that Sensei calls us."

"Hey!" Kushina was ignored ass my attention stayed on our client.

"Thank you, I'll be relying on you." He said.

Schooling my features, I was surprised. He looked like one swing of a hammer or something would smash someone's head like a walnut. He also looked like he had pride. Like he would definitely not want to be guarded by a bunch of brats.

but it was the opposite.

"All right, do you all have everything?" she asked.

We nodded.

"Then let's head out!" she said.

I turned to my only female friend and sighed.

"I'm off," I told her.

Rin threw herself at me and hugged me tightly.

"Stay safe," she said.

I nodded before slipping out of her arms and turned towards the gates.

Anxiety bloomed again and I swallowed the nerves in my throat.

When did I get to be such a wimp?

"Wait!"

I looked back over my shoulder recognizing the chakra signature.

Obito almost collapsed onto the ground huffing.

"Woke up late, Sunshine?" I teased

"Hahaha." He huffed.

He straightened and held out his fist.

"Kick-butt!" he grinned.

I smirked before bumping fists. My gut evening out.

"Let's go, Hyuga!" Seiichi called.

-.-

"Camp trapped?" Kushina asked turning to Seiichi and I. We nodded before sitting down on the ground. Kushina passed me a bowl and I grabbed it, surprised at the heat.

"Warming seals?" I asked her.

I could barely make her out in the dusk. But I know she grinned.

"Whats that?" Ryouta-san said.

"A seal in which warms whatever it is placed on," Seiichi answered, before drinking down the soup.

"That is convenient." He replied.

"Especially in missions like this in which we cannot use a fire," Tsubasa said, rolling out his

sleeping bag.

"Alright, so Ryouta-san," Kushina ordered. "You can head to bed, we will guard the area."

"Thank you, Uzumaki-san." He stretched before crawling under his sleeping bag.

He is odd. I didn't like him, there was something off about him.

I frowned as he turned around, glaring at his back like it would give me answers.

"So children," Kushina stated. "We are changing up the night guard duties."

"Why's that?" Seiichi asked.

"Remember what Hokage-same said?" Kushina replied. "We are on the break of war, therefore we need to be more vigilant."

Tsubasa and I nodded, understanding what she was trying to say

"This means, we are going to a buddy system." She pointed to Tsubasa and Seiichi. "You two will be on guard first, you have the first third of the night. At that time you will wake me, before Seiichi, you will sleep. Glasses and I will be on guard until halfway through the second third of the night. Then you will wake Rei-chan, and go to bed. From there I will go to bed in the last third where Seiichi will take over."

I nodded to myself. That made sense.

"This way, there will always be a trapper to check the traps and a sensor to survey the surroundings. It also means that one can easily go off on patrol and the other can stay here to guard us." She finished.

"Any questions?" She asked. Immediately the blueberry put his hand up.

"Why do I have to guard twice? Seiichi complained

"That is just because you are guarding a third of the night, and are still midding half a third. This gives, my time for a nap before we take off. I need to be placed in the middle of the night, due to the middle of the night being the time where we must be most careful." She stated. "It is also the time in which even experienced Shinobi make mistakes.

We nodded, understanding her logic.

"So as soon as you are done eating, get to bed Rei-chan, we start as soon as possible."

"Yes, sensei." We said.

I drank up the rest of the soup and crawled into my sleeping bag.

I curled up on my side and closed my eyes.

But I did not fall asleep, even when Kushina laid down next to me.

My gut turned and I suddenly felt sick.

I squeezed my eyes shut and curled my fists into my hands, not caring if they were biting into my hands.

"Calm down, Reika." I heard from beside me.

I looked up into Amethyst eyes.

"I am calm." I lied.

"I can smell your blood." She whispered. "Everything will be fine."

I fell silent, straining my ear to hear my teammates talking quietly.

I forcefully opened my hands and watched the red slowly drip down.

"How do you know?" I asked, feeling weak. "How can you be so confident?"

So weak.

"Because if you admit defeat," she held my gaze, full of confidence, with her own,"Then you have already lost the battle."

Why am I so weak?

I would never have doubts like this before.

Before this life.

Before I had people I cared for.

That I would give my life dreamland.

That I worry for.

That I don't want to lose.

Before…

I was alone.

Now I am not.

I closed my eyes, willing myself to try and sleep.

It's a scary thought.

-.-

...

Don't hate me...

I swear I have been trying to get this chapter out for quite a while, but between school, work and home life, I'm having a hard time setting myself on a schedule.

I wanted to make this chapter longer, but I had to cut it off here. The chapter would have been too long otherwise.  
I hope you are all doing well, have Happy Easter to those that celebrate, if not, Happy Monday.

Question: What do you think is going to happen next?

Recommended Fanfiction: _A Song for Them_ by **Miss Nanami-chan**.

Thank you all for your view, Favorites, Follows, and Reviews.

Love you all,  
Ravenmocker6.

 **lizyeh2000** , Here's the next one.

 **ManawaSasa** , I was grinning writing the chapter.

 **Dark Rose Charm** , Revenge is best served cold... or with a Duck... I'm glad you like how I'm portraying him. That would be funny!

 **XBnemesisX** , It was kinda like that. they were all under the blanket fort/tent, except for Reika, herself. That would have been funny! They would have been so angry! The kids would have been in big trouble. But I'm sure they would have realized there was foul play, but who did it? I doubt they would ever find that out. but this will definitely damage their reputation. Can't to hear from you some more.

 **GethinPathIsolator** , I am too. I love Sakumo so much, and can't wait for the changes he will bring. Honestly, Danzo will be coming up sooner then you think. but what I can't wait is for when he is finally put in his place...

 **Naomipy** , Sorry for the delay! Here it is.


	20. Chapter 20- Graphic Warning

**Warning: Graphic Content. Personally I don't consider this to be Rated-M but I'm warning you in advance.**

Chapter 20- Why do the Good Ones Always seem to Die First?

"Reika?"

My eyes flew open and I sat up fast, almost colliding with Tsubasa.

He moved out of the way, as I blinked in surprise slowly taking in my dim surroundings.

Kushina's bedroll was empty while Seiichi's was full, his puff of blue hair sticking out from under it.

I blinked again before tuning in to what Tsubasa was saying.

"Are you okay Reika?" he asked. I looked into the lens of his glasses and voiced my first thought, and dodging his question.

"How can you see in the dark with sunglasses on?" I asked.

He answered almost immediately.

"Those from my clan have better eyesight than other people."

"You can see in the dark, too?" I asked surprised. The byakugan gave me that advantage as well.

He shook his head.

"No, it is just fact that those with lighter eyes are more sensitive to light than those with darker." He stated.

That's true, he has piercing yellow eyes.

"Ah." I got up and straightened my clothes as he spoke some more.

"Kushina-sensei is out checking the traps, she'll be back soon." He told me before leaving my side and crawling into his own temporary bed.

I sighed and rubbed my face, trying to get the sleep out of it, slowly making my way to the fallen trunk. I sat down and took a deep breath.

Expanding my Byakugan I watched Tsubasa's breathing even out.

Sensing a presence from the north, I watched Kushina pick up speed and launch off branches.

I scanned the rest of the trees around us, clearing them before Kushina touched down quietly next to me.

"Anything?" She asked. I shook my head, before remembering that we did not have much light, though I doubt it mattered to her.

"A badger, a crow, and a lone fox," I answered. "All within four kilometers."

She hummed before sitting next to me.

"How are the traps?" I asked.

"Clean," she replied.

I nodded and we fell into silence, only the noise of the world around us.

The clouds moved above us revealing the only light source we could base ourselves off of.

It was almost a full moon. What was the term again…

I leaned back in my arms.

Three-quarter moon? Was it?

"Rei-chan?" Kushina asked.

I blinked before focusing back on my partner.

"Yes, Sensei?"

"Why are you so nervous?" she asked me.

I blinked before shrugging.

Silence crossed between us.

"If you are gesturing I can't see you." She stated.

Squishing down defensive anger, I answered.

"I'm fine sensei, Don't worry about me."

I activated my Kekkei Genkai and scanned the forest around me.

"What are you worried? The mission? Or are you worried about your parents? Sakumo-sempai?" I zoomed back in and watched her tilt her head.

"It's nothing to worry about Kushina-sensei," I said shutting her out. "I can take care of it."

"Which is it?" she asked again.

I clamped my eyes shut and I honestly tried to keep a lid on my emotions.

"Leave it, Sensei," I emphasized.

She fell silent and I turned my face away from her. I studied the crescent-shaped marks on my palm. The blood was crusted from last night and I proceeded to rub it off.

"Minato was also sent to the border." She started again.

I stayed silent, filing the information away for later.

"I understand you want to take care of this alone, Reika." She said. "But you are not alone, you can count on us."

I swallowed.

"We can take no matter what you throw at us."

I opened my mouth, working my jaw to be able to say the words.

"We are a team."

To tell her everything.

"I'm going to scout."

I jumped up and took to the trees.

It's not possible. I couldn't say anything.

My heart was beating rapidly and I pushed off from a tree. Flipping down to the ground, I landed just outside our perimeter, sitting by one of Seiichi's trip wires and sighed.

I crossed my legs and ruffled my hair.

I'm an idiot.

Life is not so great that I could just tell people and expect them to believe me about rebirth. About me knowing what was supposed to come.

I would be carted off to either the hospital or T&I as fast as possible.

Shit.

I gripped my pants with both hands and inhaled.

Five seconds.

Hold twenty.

Exhale Ten.

I repeated it and schooled my features.

I had to be calm when I returned.

The last thing I wanted was to take this anger out on someone else.

-.-

We are surrounded.

I watched the twenty beetles swarm around us and activated my Kekkei Genkai.

"Bandits," I told them. "They have barely any chakra system."

I watched Ryouta-san's expression and he reacted accordingly.

"I'm relying on you." He said, his voice perfectly strained, his hands sweaty enough to show nerves. His tongue wetting his lips at the right time.

All to show he's nervous.

"Brace." Kushina said, "Seiichi, Guard."

I shifted my weight and watched as the Bandits launched themselves from the sidelines and towards us.

Sliding my leg and hand back I reacted before they even touched the ground.

Eight trigrams thirty-two palms.

While this technique was definitely designed for taking down one person, it was not to hard to adjust my stance to divide the attack to cover more than one.

With the last hit, my fourth bandit hit the ground. My hand slid to my side, and I threw a kunai at another that was reaching towards Ryouta-san.

Seiichi nodded in thanks, before kicking back the bandit that was keeping him occupied.

My eyes traveled toward Kushina as she slammed another into the ground.

They are okay.

My eyes further traveled to the last of my group.

I blinked as pain erupted in my lower rib.

I fell to the ground, a man landing heavily on my back. I twisted with him, ignoring the familiar sting of a knife, and faced my attacker.

He was an inexperienced idiot. If you sneak up on an opponent you stab not slice. There are accounts of people walking away after being sliced over 200 times, while one stab can kill even the strongest person.

"Bitch. I'm going to kill you kid."

I linked my feet together and jerked up my hips, making the man destabilize and fall forward. I hit his voice box, causing him to cough. Almost immediately, his hair was tilted back and a kunai sliced open his throat.

I blinked in surprise as the blood spurted me in the face. His body falling to the side and I blinked in surprise.

I looked back up into the eyes of my savior and stilled as I only saw my own bloody reflection.

"Thanks," I said, kicking the body away.

He nodded before pulling me up with one hand, the other throwing the same kunai at another attacker.

I winced and looked down, watching the blood spurt out of my side.

The guy didn't aim very well.

I looked around before making a cross with my hands.

Shadow Clone Jutsu.

Three of my clones appeared out of smoke and ran at the leftover men, finishing them quickly.

"You okay Reika?" Kushina asked as she came over to me.

I clutched my side and shrugged, before looking her over.

She was clean as ever.

I snickered, looking at Seiichi as he stood next to a bandit jerking all over the ground.

"That's what you get for hitting me in the face." He hissed, a big bruise starting to form on his cheek.

"Shock tag?" Tsubasa asked from beside me. He hadn't moved from my side, his bugs hovering around us.

"He kicked me in the face!" the blueberry complained finally looking up at us.

My snickering turned into laughter and I fell to the ground, clutching my side.

"Oww!" I hissed.

Kushina dropped next to me and peeled off my hand.

"Reika…" she hissed. "This is not fine."

"I never said I was fine…" I sassed.

"What? You got hurt?" Seiichi asked.

"Yes, she did." Tsubasa stated, "Why? Because she was being an idiot."

My eyebrow twitched.

"I was not!" I growled back

"You were not paying attention to the enemy, instead, only to us." He said.

I was surprised at the anger that radiated from him.

"Tsubasa," Kushina asked. "Do you have your medical kit with you?"

I blinked in surprise.

"Yes."

"Good."

I blinked in surprise as she placed my hands on my wound.

"Press on it." I rolled my eyes but did as she said.

"Glasses, can you take care of her while Blueberry and I deal with the bodies?" Kushina said turning to the boy.

"Affirmative." He said. I winced, keeping the pressure on the wound and getting up. Tsubasa put my other arm around him and guided me towards the stream.

We were silent as we got there and I watched him sit down next to me.

"Lay down." He instructed.

Removing my kimono top, I peeled my black undershirt above the wound and did as he asked.

I flinched as he placed a clean and wet rag on my wound.

"We aren't weak, Reika." He said.

I looked away from the rag and into his face, gauging his expression.

"I know that…"

"You don't," he said. "You act like we are the ones needing protection when you are are the youngest of us by three years!"

I opened my mouth to argue but he pealed the cloth back.

I looked down at the wound, curious how bad the wound really was.

"It missed the major organs." He said, breathing out a sigh of relief. "Why? Because it is too far to the right and is not bleeding too hard. "

I caught myself from rolling my eyes.

Replacing the cloth he instructed me to hold the cloth tight against me.

He reached into his small kit and fished out a curved hook and surgical threat.

"I'm going to have to sew you up." He said, pulling out a lighter. It was a small silver flip lighter. One that kids often played with, flicking it on and off, watching the cap clank onto the metal.

I watched his hands as they shook, almost scared.

"I did know you knew first aid," I said, changing the subject.

"Kushina-sensei insisted that I know it," he stated. "After all, she can't perform medical-ninjutsu."

I narrowed my eyes in confusion.

"Why can't she?"

"Too much chakra." Tsubasa threaded the needle and flicked on the lighter. I watched the sight of the hook getting hotter in nostalgia, remembering the times I've had this done before. It hadn't been that bad.

"What do you mean?"

"The more chakra one has, the less likely they are able to control it." He said, the metal getting hotter and hotter. "Thus, Kushina-sensei has too much chakra so it is impossible for her to get it so very thing to be able to link cells back together."

I hummed as he flicked the lighter closed.

"I don't have any anesthesia, do you need something to bite on?" He asked, removing the cloth from my wound.

"Just get on with it."

The first time he inserted the needle it hurt the most, making me groan and my teeth grit.

The kid was ten, and obviously nervous and shaken up.

The kid was ten and he has entrusted with stitching up a wound.

I swallowed but didn't move.

In 5 seconds.

Hold 20.

Out 10.

I repeated it and used other tricks I had learned over the years.

Why did it hurt so much? It never hurt this bad in my other life.

Did chakra make things hurt more?

Was it because Tsubasa was a novice?

Or was it because I'm not as detached as I was in my past life.

When you are detached, all your senses become dull. Not just your mental state.

I felt the final stitch go through and Tsubasa pulling it tight tying it off.

Are the people of my life making me less detached and more aware?

Probably.

"All done." He said, replacing the cloth to remove the blood from the closed wound.

I blinked admiring the neat and precise stitches.

"Thank you," I said. He rounded bandages around my stomach, keeping it form the open air.

He dripped the clothing back in the stream and wrung it. he handed it over to me and I looked at him questioningly.

"What is this for?" I asked he was washing his hands and the cuff of his right sleeve in the water.

"Your face." He turned back towards me and I caught my reflection in his glasses.

"I'm going to return to the others." He said, gathering his stuff and putting back in his bag.

"Tsubasa," I called.

He turned towards me ever so slightly.

"I'm sorry you had to make your first kill because of me," I said, looking down in guilt.

If only he didn't have to.

He didn't say anything but turned back and walked off.

"He's angry at me," I told myself and collapsed back on the ground wincing as the stitches tugged at my skin.

I blinked in surprise as the purple beetle landed on my nose, crawling up to my head.

I got back up and started to wipe the blood off my face.

"Your master is a mystery," I told her. She snickered in response.

-.-

I still took watch that night, despite Kushina's insistence that I sleep.

She scolded me for not listening to her but didn't comment on anything else. Instead, we sat there in silence, the moon illuminating us.

"If you want to say something, do it." I finally broke, near the end of our shift.

She sighed.

"I think you already know what I need to tell you." She answered.

"Stop worrying and focus more right?" I asked.

I watched her smirk.

"Yeah, I hope this teaches you a lesson." She pointed to my side and I rolled my eyes.

"Did you talk to Tsubasa about his first kill?" I asked her.

"Yes, he's taking it better then Seiichi did." She said. "I think it is because of him being a clan kid. They always prepare their children more on how to deal with death then the academy can give."

I hummed and thought back to my own childhood.

There was nothing my parents did to make me more accepting of death, Rather, they tried to hide it from me.

I shrugged and got up.

"I'm going to scout," I told her, stretching my limbs, wincing at the soreness of the stitches.

"Take it easy." She said, before getting up as well. "Tomorrow we get to the village and then we are home free."

She stretched.

"I'm going to go wake up Seiichi."

I nodded before taking off. I made my way around the perimeter before thinking back to Tsubasa.

The boy was quiet, mysterious, and reliable. I was glad that he was my teammate.

But it was my fault he made his first kill.

Guilt ate at me and winced as moved in the wrong direction.

If only I was more aware.

Maybe Kushina was right when she said that I shouldn't worry so much about the others. They are their own people, there aren't useless.

I sighed, before heading back to camp. I sent a small flair to Seiichi, indicating I was coming and landed on the trunk beside him.

"Anything?" He asked.

"No," I answered sitting next to the Blueberry.

I held back a wince at the stitches.

They were getting annoying.

"Did you check the seals?" he asked.

I narrowed my eyes.

"You know I can't tamper with that," I told him.

He grinned.

"Not yet anyway."

I thought back the explosion seals in my pocket I made from his scroll. I've gotten better, my handwriting clearer and there was less hesitating in my strokes.

"Shut up." I bit, looking over my shoulder to where the other half of our team slept.

"Fine." He rubbed his eyes and yawned.

My eyes caught on Tsubasa, as one of his legs moved.

"Don't bother him," Seiichi said, catching my look in the moonlight. "He's just having a nightmare."

"It's my fault."

I blinked, not realizing I had voiced it.

"Yeah right." He snorted in disbelief.

"If I would have paid attention he wouldn't have had to kill, yet," I told Seiichi.

"Well," the blueberry pulled up one of his legs and leaned on it. "I would say that Tsubasa had a better first kill then I did."

My attention snapped to him.

"How could you say that!" I hissed. "He killed because of me and splattered me with blood!"

I purposely did not bring up his own first kills, where the bodies were burnt to a crisp. Just like how I like my bacon.

…

I'm sorry.

That was morbid.

"It is because he did kill cause of you." He snickered.

I didn't understand.

"I had to convince myself what I did was right." He told me. "Tsubasa doesn't have to. If he didn't kill him, you might have been dead right now."

I blinked in surprise.

"I didn't think about it that way." I managed to say.

"Look, I understand where you are coming from," Seiichi concluded. "I felt guilty as well when you had to have your first kill because of me, too."

Oh yeah.

That was a thing.

"Seiichi."

"But I guess I felt more guilty that I didn't remember that you killed to protect me until later on." He said. "Anyway. I know what you are thinking, but it is better than watching people we were supposed to take alive, burn to a crisp."

I fell silent.

"It's creepy that you are joking about it," I told him.

"It's creepy that you seem okay with someone's blood being splattered all over your face."

My eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

"What gave you that idea?" I growled.

"The first thing you did after it happened was get up and look at us to see if we were okay." He mentioned. "And Tsubasa told me that you didn't even realize that you had blood on your face until he gave you a cloth to wash it off."

Shit.

I looked away, slyly. Glad that he couldn't see me.

"Is he angry," I finally asked. "That I was distracted."

Seiichi snorted.

"You're an idiot." He said.

I frowned, biting back an insult.

Asina.

"We are not angry that you were distracted," He bumped my shoulder with his own.

"We are angry that you think that we are so weak that we need protecting from simple bandits."

I looked over, his blue hair curling around him. I hadn't noticed that he didn't put it in a ponytail tonight, but instead let it pool on his shoulders, it looked good.

"I get it Reika. You care and don't want us hurt." He said. "We love you too, but you have to be able to count on us. We are a team, we need to work together rather than have one person always protecting the others."

I blinked still stunk on the four little words.

We love you too.

A smile curled on my lips.

"I'm sorry," I found myself saying.

"I guess I'm overprotective."

"I'd say mother-hen."

He doubled over in shock as I gave him a love tap in the stomach.

Almost immediately I hissed in pain.

He snicked at me before getting up.

"I'm going to check on the seals." He said, leaving me to my thoughts.

Okay.

I can do this.

I let them in this far.

I'll do it.

I'll actively concentrate on whats in front of me, and not with who I'm with. I won't protect them.

The next morning I apologized to Tsubasa.

His face was solid, and I nervously waited for a response.

A hand eventually landed on my head and rubbed it.

Looking up, Tsubasa smirked before walking away.

"Ha Ha!" Seiichi laughed pointing at my long static hair. "It looks like someone rubbed a balloon on your hair!"

I glared at the blueberry before smirking.

"Ha Ha!" I emphasized loudly. "It looks like you can't dodge!"

Pointing to his black cheek.

"What did you say!" he hissed.

"Oi, enough you too!" Kushina called.

-.-

We walked into the mining village in the afternoon, and everyone stopped to watch.

"Ryouta-san." A black haired man called running forward. "It's good to see you back in one piece."

Ryouta laughed and once again I was puzzled by his expressions. They were too perfect.

"Thank you very much Uzumaki-san, Team 6. I appreciate your escort." He bowed. Seiichi grinned and Tsubasa crossed his arms, trying to seem like it was no problem.

"It was a pleasure doing business Ryouta-san," Kushina said.

"That it was, now why don't I show you to where your shipment is." He said, walking away.

"Alright," she said. "Seiichi your with me, Tsubasa and Reika, relax for a bit."

"Oi! Wait up." Seiichi growled as she walked away with our client.

"I don't trust him," I mutter to the bug-user.

He blinked.

"You either?" he said. "Should we talk to Kushina-sensei?"

I shrugged before walked to the closest tree, near the wooden house. No one else was around, probably working in the mines.

"I guess, but he'll be out of our hair soon enough," I told him.

I touched my side and settled comfortably. The throb in my side stopping.

"Are you in pain?"

"A flesh wound," I told him.

He shook his head.

"It didn't seem too deep either." He commented. "Can I check it?" he asked.

I removed my top and let him check it over.

Unwrapping the bandages, he stared at the cut.

"Is it just me or is it smaller?" he asked.

I snorted in disbelief.

"As if," I said looking down. "You are probably imagining it."

I looked down and studied it. It looked a bit swollen but it wasn't bleeding.

"It probably looked bigger because of all the blood yesterday."

He didn't answer but wrapped me back up.

"Maybe."

I had time to rest my eyes a bit before Kushina and Seiichi came bounding back.

"How did you seal them up so fast," Seiichi said excitedly. "It's like you used something to gather all the ores together and seal them. I can only do it one by one!"

"I'll teach you later." She said before they reached us.

"Ready to go home kids?" she asked, overly cheerful.

"We are not staying here for the night?" Our bug-expert asked.

She shook her head. "Time is of the essence, we need to get home."

"Thank you guys once again!" Ryouta said from behind them. I blinked, not realizing he was there.

That was wrong. There was something wrong here. He shouldn't be able to sneak up on us.

"It is not a problem," Kushina said waving. "Let us know if there is anything else we can do for you."

He smiled, fakely.

"That may be sooner then we think." He joked.

Or at least I had hoped he joked.

I didn't want to see his face any time soon.

I caught Tsubasa's eye or rather glasses, and we flanked Seiichi. He was our weakest link.

"Goodbye." Kushina grinned. "Dattebane."

I was surprised when as soon as we made it out of the village she turned to us.

"Are you able to run, Reika?" she asked seriously.

"Yes," I answered. I might bleed a bit but I've done worse.

"Good, we running East as fast as possible." She said, checking her supplies fast. "We are going straight to the border."

"Why?" Seiichi asked.

"It's Ryouta-san," Tsubasa asked. "Right?"

She looked over at the edge of the clearing.

"Yeah, something is not right. And I doubt its an issue that we can handle ourselves."

I looked back over at him and we nodded.

"Alright," Seiichi said. "Let's get out of here."

We took off in diamond formation, me in the back, Kushina on point. I activated my Byakugan and scanned the area we just left.

"Ryouta is still with the black-haired, but he doesn't seem very happy," I told them.

"Anything else?" she asked, looking back.

I watched him looked up and smirk before two other people joined them landing beside the black-haired man.

The black-haired man looked up in shock.

My vision became blurry before I could identify them.

"Two other people joined them, and the black-haired man didn't seem to know them," I told her.

"Kuso." She swore.

"Sensei," Tsubasa asked. "Do think they are coming after us?"

She was silent for a bit.

"I don't know." She answered. "But we are not waiting for them to act."

-.-

"Okay, take rest." She answered four hours later. "We have an hour before we are going again."

I hit the ground, my feet first, then my knees.

"Reika!" Seiichi said, landing beside me.

I pulled my kimono to the side and pulled up my damp undershirt.

"You are bleeding through," Tsubasa said.

I didn't answer but instead, I got out my own mini-med kit. The one Rin had made me.

"I probably have something in here," I told him, the pain was clouding my vision a bit.

He took the kit and looked through it.

"Who put it together?"

"Rin," I replied.

"Really?" Seiichi looked over at the kit and I noticed the grin. "I want one."

I blinked.

"Do you like Rin?" I asked.

He looked up, pink dusting his cheeks.

"None of your business."

I snickered.

"It's really good, she has a blood clotting ointment in here," Tsubasa said grabbing a jarred green mix and opened it.

He sniffed it and grinned.

"It's a very good one." He said. "Her personal mix."

He held it out to me and I coughed at the smell.

It's like sniffing pesto.

"That's disgusting," I growled.

He grabbed a finger full and indicated for me to pull back up my shirt.

I did what he said and flinched as he put the gel-like liquid on the stitches.

Surprisingly, it felt good. Cold to my hot skin.

"It's going to fight the infection and make it heal even faster."

I nodded and laid on the ground. My teammates did the same.

"Get some shut-eye. We are up in 45 minutes." Kushina-sensei said seriously.

So we did, as much as we could and headed out on time.

"Reika. Tsubasa," she said. We nodded.

I watched my teammate call out his bugs and send them out. Once they were gone, I activated my Kekkei Genkai.

"My beetles are picking up three signatures in the clearing to our left, a kilometer away." He said.

My heart pounded, as I shifted my view to them.

It was three men.

One in which we knew.

"Ryouta-san is one, and there are two other men, chakra systems unlocked, a chunin and a jonin," I informed them. "They are standing in the middle talking, no insignias visible."

"have they noticed us?" Kushina asked.

"No," I said, trying to calm the pain in my gut.

"Stealth from here on out." She said. "We are going around them."

Almost immediately I pulled in all my chakra, leaving just enough to empower my legs. The boys, well not as well, they too hid their chakra.

Kushina became silent as well, hiding hers as well as expected.

Moving 15 degrees right she signed. We nodded. And shifted that way, missing their path.

We moved passed them and pushed forward. We ran for another four hours before we took rest.

I splashed water on my face from the river and both boys collapsed on the ground from running so hard.

I looked over at Kushina and marveled how she was barely sweating.

I drenched my kimono top in it the lake. Only after did I wring it over my chest. Letting the cold water cool my burning wound.

"Reika."

I nodded to my teacher and activated my Kekkei Genkai. I started close before moving outwards slowly turning my head.

There was a kunai in a tree.

And it had a chakra system.

I got up fast and concentrated.

I signed 500 meters.

Then all hell broke loose.

-.-

They were smart.

One hit Kushina first as soon as I was finished signing.

Surprised, I zoomed in on the Iwa headband.

I jumped out of the way as three kunai was aimed at me.

My back hit with Tsubasa's and I glanced at his expression.

His teeth gritted and he sneered.

"What the actual fuck!" Seiichi called as he pulled out a flash tag and attached it to his kunai. He flipped back and knelt beside us.

There were three people attacking us.

Iwa, Ryouka-san and another ninja.

Hatred seemed inside me along with the fear as I saw Kumo.

"Are Iwa and Kumo working together!" Seiichi commented again.

"Temporary alliance, kid." The Kumo ninja weaved through hand signs and aimed for us.

Bird, snake, monkey, ram.

Lighting Ball jutsu.

Yellow balls appeared around him and flew at us.

"Eep." Seiichi and I divide out of the way while one of the balls hit Tsubasa.

"Tsubasa!" I called.

My byakugan noticed the fuzziness in his chakra and looked to my right side, seeing him there. Looking back I watched the clone of beetles disperse.

"Hm, this might be a bit of a challenge after all," Ryouta said.

"Fuck you!" Seiichi growled. And this time I didn't correct him.

"Who are you really?" Kushina said, kicking off from the Iwa ninja. "What are you after?"

"Hm, nothing of importance." He said, sending a kunai at her,

She deflected and landed close to us.

"What's the plan," I asked her. "We are up against two chunin and a Jonin."

"I'm going to engage the Iwa nin, the Jonin." She said. "and I'm going to take him away from here."

There is no way we could beat all three together.

"That leaves two Chunin," Tsubasa said.

"You guys are going to have to somehow distract them and get out of here." She said.

"Reika, shadow clones."

I nodded and made the hand seal.

Multi Shadow Clone jutsu

Twenty clones popped into existence and they henged themselves into our team.

"Get to the border."

"Kumo?" Seiichi asked.

She nodded.

"Tell them your registration code, and you should be fine."

We didn't have a chance to argue before Kushina launched herself at the Iwa nin.

"You are coming with me!" she hissed to the Jonin.

Almost immediately they disappeared together.

"Seiichi!" I growled, nodding to the tag.

He shot it forward and it hit the ground near the remaining ninja's feet. Almost immediately I send my own with an explosion tag.

We replaced with logs and took off into the night, running as fast as we could.

I winced as all my clones were taken out, pushing forward faster and the boys matched my speed.

I don't know if we will make it.

We had half a day's run left to the border.

I swallowed before gritting my teeth. We might have to hold our ground.

And hopefully, the border patrols catch us.

"Listen up," I told the boys, not seeing any other choice.

"We are going to make it to the patrols," I told them.

I activated my Kekkei Genkai and scanned the area.

"There is a densely forested area a five kilometers away from here," I told them. "You guys are going to get there, and you are going to trap the hell out of it," I told them.

"What!" Seiichi hissed.

"What about you?" Tsubasa said angerly. "We won't leave you to protect us."

"I won't be," I said, crossing my fingers. "I'm stalling."

Multi shadow clone Jutsu.

12 clones appeared and 9 of them henged into my teammates and I sent a total of 6 of them out in the back of us to stall.

"I'm having you guys create a base as fast as possible so that the other one will get trapped," I said. "I can't hold both and Ryouta will probably go after you!"

"Why not the Kumo?" Tsubasa asked.

"Because they want me," I said, thinking back to y conversation with Kushina. "He wants my Kekkei Genkai."

"Okay, but I have a better chance at diverting them than you," Tsubasa said. "You're hurt."

"You need to send out an SOS to the border for help," I told him.

"Go!" I hissed falling back. I kept two hedged clones with me sent a copy of myself to guide them, and sent another three in a different direction, covering their tracks.

I inhaled and pulled out the lighter I grabbed from Tsubasa's pocket when I passed him. I pulled up my undershirt and cut my bandages off.

I had a minute before they catch up to me.

I lit the lighter and put my kunai up to it.

45 seconds.

I watched it light up, smoke curving around it and it slowly getting hot.

"I hope you know what you are doing." My Seiichi clone asked to spite me.

"Shut up." I hissed, flicking the lighter closed. I placed it in my pouch and inhaled two times.

30 seconds.

I gasped as I placed the burning hot kunai on my skin, searing the meat closed.

Crying out in pain, my hold on my clones flickered.

If I make it out of this, I swear this is going to be the most bad ass scar ever.

My knees hit the ground and the scent of burning flesh hit me. It was a smell I had gotten used to in the ring, grabbing torches that were thrown into it and using it to scar your opponent. To burn the hair from their scalp. To melt their fingers together or to make them swallow it, burning the insides of their throats, suffocating them.

Whoever said that Canadians were polite lied.

… then again some did say sorry after… smiling.

Fucking sickos.

I grinned before dropping the sizzling kunai.

I gasped for breath and watched the world spin, the world turning dark as a lone cloud covered the moon.

"Get up."

I was surprised that Tsubasa's clone was still around, while Seiichi's had popped.

"Yeah, I know."

I puked up my lunch and wiped my hand across my mouth.

10 seconds.

I gasped, slowly doing what my teammate ordered.

"What the fuck happened here?"

I looked up to the two shadowed figures in front of me.

"I guess we got at least one of them."

I spat the leftover puke from my mouth. And looked up in time for the moon to reappear.

Ryouta looked at me with a grin, while the Kumo looked upset.

"What the fuck, she's hurt." He hissed. "Damaged goods wasn't part of the price."

Ryouta grinned.

"Don't worry, she'll heal soon enough."

I narrowed my eyes, "You are speaking like I'm not here."

"And soon enough you will not be." The Kumo ninja said taking a step towards me. "You'll be in Kumo."

I narrowed my eyes and pulled out an explosion tag.

Bang.

I threw it to my feet and replaced myself with a branch ten meters away.

Almost immediately I replace again with another ten more meters away. I watched as the other explosion tags that I had my Tsubasa clone hide went off.

I caught my breath before sneaking into my pouch and popping a soldier pill.

"You bitch." The Kumo ninja came out of nowhere and kicked me. I hit the dirt and rolled into a little clearing. The forest behind him was smoking, and I could see the red rolling down his arm.

At least I hit one.

"The other boys aren't with her." I looked over my shoulder and watched Ryouta come into the other side of the clearing. "Go after them, Maki-san."

"What?" the Kumo ninja looked over at his… partner? Associate?

"The Hyuga is ours." He said.

"And I'll give her to you when I capture her, but I'm better suited for fighting her then you are."

The lightning ninja gave him a look.

"Fine, make sure you keep your end of the deal, Tree-hugger."

The ninja disappeared as I thought back to his words.

"Who are you," I whispered.

Tree-hugger.

"Ah sorry, kid." He scratched his head. "I told you not to tempt us."

Memories flooded my mind.

"Don't play dumb, kid." His face was expressionless. "You are being invited nicely right now."

A fit of anger like I hadn't felt in quite a while formed in my gut.

 _"You won't be able to pull me into the darkness." I fired back. "I'm on a team, under a prominent Jonin, am friends with an important Jonin's son, and under the radar of the Hokage himself."_

 _Rokuro laughed._

 _"There are ways to fix that, kid." He said, I felt a build up of chakra in him and immediately fell into a fighting stance._

 _"Watch yourself. You are not as invincible as you may seem. The people around you are killable."_

"No." I turned around and took a step backward. "You are..."

His henge dropped and I understood why everything seemed so perfect with him.

"Rokuro." I hissed.

"There should be a sempai in there somewhere kid, you'll be training under me soon enough." His arms crossed.

This didn't add up.

"I thought I was being given to Kumo," I asked. Catching my breath. I was starting to feel the effects of the soldier pill filling my body.

"As if we would waste your potential." He uncrossed his arms and took a step forward.

"Come with me willingly, kid." He enforced.

Trust us

I narrowed my eyes before placing my hands out, palms towards him.

"You'll have to kill me."

"That's unfortunate."

I barely dodged the kunai that was sent my way, him appearing soon after it.

I flipped back before parrying his hits.

Instinct and experience bleeding out.

I ducked and hit a point in his leg as he tied to kicked me.

His legs pushed off and landed a few feet away.

He turned his leg, trying to get the feeling back into it.

"Nice shot."

Rat, tiger, dog, ox, rabbit, tiger.

Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire.

I didn't wait t see if it was really a distraction as the fireballs came flying at me and performed my own hand signs.

Tiger, hare, boar, dog.

I hit the ground and a medium-sized earth wall appeared in front of me.

Using Naruto's favorite jutsu I made clones to come out from the sides.

Distracted by them I closed my eyes and waited for the tag to go off. One clone dispelled and I jumped over the barrier landing with him in range.

Eight trigrams 32 palms.

I hit him dead center, straight and true.

With my last hit, he fell to the ground too suddenly.

"What is Danzo planning," I growled watching the body turn to smoke.

I scanned the clearing, before dodging the next fireball he shot at me.

"Why do you think I am associated with him?" he asked, "I told you I'm in ANBU."

"Don't be stupid." I hissed, lashing out with a kunai. "I'm not an idiot, The Hokage would never endorse this."

"Endorse…that is a big word for a seven-year-old." He kicked me in the stomach and I rolled back, hissing as I clutched my burned flesh.

"Why would he ally himself with Kumo and Iwa? Why allow them to try and take me." I coughed, before gasping for air.

The cursed man started to laugh, obviously fake. His emotions were too perfect.

"Ally?" he asked. "We are not allies. Once this mission ends, we will finally stop playing the waiting game."

He took a few steps closer.

"I'm sure you are tired of the Hokage waiting for the other villages to make a move and gather resources."

I growled at him to stay back

"You are causing a fucking war!" I dodged the kick to the face and closed off another tenketsu.

"Yeah, get over it," he said. "War always happens and we are protecting Kohona in the way the Hokage doesn't want to."

I kept my eyes on him, before opening up my field of vision.

How the fuck am I going to get out of this alive.

Rokuro was a chunin/root ANBU.

I need to be smart.

I hissed as the licks of anger erupted from inside me.

I can't get too angry. I can't act on it.

"But that is a bonus." He took another step and I matched him. "Removing your team comes first."

"What," I growled. "did you just say?"

"You asked for this kid." He launched himself forward and I dodged to the side, launching my last explosive tag at him.

I rolled behind my wall, that was still up and held my head as the explosion hit the ground.

how the fuck was I asking for this!

 _"You won't be able to pull me into the darkness." I fired back. "I'm on a team, under a prominent Jonin, am friends with an important Jonin's son, and under the radar of the Hokage himself."_

Shit.

It's all my fault.

My eyes picked up his curled body on the ground and I ran out the other side.

I pounced on the body, sticking my last kunai into his skull.

"Fuck you, Fuck Danzo." I hissed, red covering my vision.

The chakra sizzled and I swore.

Shadow clone.

My body was slammed into the ground I just stabbed, smoke covering up.

"The first thing we are going to do is wash your mouth out with soap." He said holding down my arms and legs with his own.

"And I told you, you will have to kill me first."

I spat in his face.

One of his hands loosened and I received an elbow to the temple.

"You are making this hard on yourself kid. You can better serve Kohona with us."

I blinked my eyes, gasping for breath, trying to focus.

My chakra hit my eyes and my Kekkei Genkai activated.

Shit.

I zoomed out, trying to find the Kumo ninja.

Tsubasa, Seiichi.

Hold out.

Please.

He hit me again and I heard a sickening crack.

Am I crying because he broke my nose, or that my teammates might die?

Trust us.

They won't die.

I hope.

"Reika." The man snorted, baring holding onto my arms.

Ah.

I remember this.

This happened before.

I've done this before.

I loosened my limbs, calming my red-hot anger to a seething ice cold.

I'm just waiting for my chance.

My eyes stayed open and trained on his lips as he spoke.

I was hearing what he was saying, but I wasn't understanding it.

His fingers found my right side and I hissed as he dug them into my burnt flesh.

Not yet.

I could feel the change in the air.

I just had to wait until he did.

"It will be a pleasure to break you." He seethed.

Oh, I didn't notice that half his face was burnt.

If this keeps up, then I'm going to have to say that the chakra paper lied. I must be a fire user, not an earth user.

I grinned at my own joke.

"What's so funny." He said, his expression blank.

Here we go.

His head snapped up as a sickening chakra littered the air.

Anger.

This chakra was hatred itself.

Thanks, Sensei.

My left elbow dislocated and I flew forward, not caring that my joint was screaming, nor that his fingers had sunk into my wound even more.

No.

I was going to have to file my teeth like the seven ninja swordsmen do if this was going to become a habit.

My teeth sunk into the junction of shoulder and neck, and I closed my mouth.

When I closed my mouth, I mean that I bit and I took everything with it.

My right hand flicked out the other seal I had taken from Seiichi.

Closing my eyes, the flash tag went off before his eyes.

He screamed and I took the time to grab one of his own kunai.

Like like we were taught.

The fastest way to a man's heart is through his fourth and fifth rib.

I spat out cloth, skin, muscle and everything in between, before grinning.

"Your death," I whisper in his ear, answering his question.

He gurgled and collapsed to my other side, blood spurting onto me.

I have to keep moving.

I relocated my elbow and stood up.

I have to find Seiichi and Tsubasa.

I took a few unsteady steps before realizing that this wasn't going to work. I made it half-way across the clearing before I had to hold onto the wall I had made during the fight.

Suddenly a spark of chakra flickered behind me, scaring me. Jumping, my hand slipped in surprise and I felt to the other side of the wall.

Man, was I glad for that slip-up.

Blood splattered all over the place and an object came flying over the wall.

Out of all the creepy shit I've seen in any of my lives.

Looking into the dull green eye of the man I just killed takes a prize.

The retina was still attached and long.

I gagged, still tasting his blood in my mouth.

Move.

Crawling forward, I placed my feet under me.

I have to move.

I rested my back on the wall and found the med-kit Rin had made me.

"Only one."

I whispered, Recalling Rin's words

 _"You can't take more than one!"_

"Sorry, Rin." I took out another soldier pill and crushed it between my sore jaws.

The disgusting taste was welcomed, as it covered Rokuro's blood.

Blood.

I looked down at me and a series of things came to my mind.

I'm missing my kimono top.

Whose blood is that?

Why is it running down my leg?

Why does my nose hurt?

I raised my left arm and replaced my nose.

I closed one nostril and blew out a clot of blood.

Only after I did the other did I start feeling my chakra being replenished.

I went to stand straighter and felt myself almost tip.

"I've lost too much blood," I told myself, half delirious.

Plasma pills help your red and white blood cells divide faster.

"Thanks, Rin."

Hatred was still in the air as I reached into the med kit and pulled out the pills. Crushing them between my teeth I swallowed. I closed my eyes, breathed in and concentrated.

"Calm down, Kushina-sensei," I whispered.

I pushed off the wall and made my way through the forest, not looking back at the blown up body of Rokuro.

It must be a protection seal. Protecting his identity and loyalties.

My movements became easier by the five-minute mark, and I felt less dizzy.

"Let's go meet up with our boys." I encouraged myself.

I jumped up on to the closest branch and waited for the world to stop spinning.

Slowly but surely I made my way to the place in which I told the boys to trap.

Halfway there, I activated my byakugan, throwing up in the process.

Motion sickness.

Next time, no activating my Kekkei Genkai with a concussion.

I pushed myself through it and located the traps in which Seiichi had placed.

Extending my vision further my heart fell at the clear path of deactivated and blown traps.

Further, there was a little clearing, probably only a few meters in diameter where both of my boys were laying. The Kumo nin was standing above them.

His foot cocked back, and he kicked Tsubasa in the head.

Watching him grit his teeth, his eyes became unfocused.

I had to save them. The Kumo nin was going to kill them!

I deactivated my eyes and dry heaved.

"Think," I whispered.

 _"How did you hide your chakra so well? And there weren't any disturbances around to indicate there were two of you?" Seiichi asked._

I inhaled 5 seconds.

Hold 20.

Exhale 10.

 _Disguise all parts of you. Even your breathing, match it with your enemies. Not only does it make it easier to understand their situation but it keeps them from hearing you and discovering you._

I hid my presence and shifted to stealth and I really don't know how I did it. But I walked up to the guy.

Quietly and without a care in the world, my anger raging around me.

I stopped at his back and using Rokuro's kunai, I slammed it into his spine, effectively paralyzing him.

He fell to the ground, beside my teammates cursing before I shot the kunai into his chest, removing it once the light faded from his eyes.

"Seiichi?" I asked looking down at the boy.

His skin was paler than normal, His body full of bruises.

I blinked, noticing the gushing blood on his top.

 _"Oh look, you do have a girly side, after all." He snickered._

I won't sugar coat it.

His throat had been slashed, and it wasn't a clean swipe like Tsubasa had given the bandit.

It was jagged and torturous. The man tortured him, slowly dragging out his death.

Seiichi Kawasu is Dead.

A gurgle distracted me and I bend down on the side of Tsubasa.

He looked no better.

"Tsubasa."

His yellow eyes slowly caught me. And they were dulling my the second.

Lips moving, but no sound came out.

"You look awful too," I replied.

They moved some more.

"Yeah, he's dead," I whispered. "They both are."

My vision blurry.

"You guys did your best. I saw the traps."

I hickuped.

"Don't say that."

The kunai clanked in my hand.

"Both of you did well."

 _"You are definitely not like other girls, Reika."_

I got up and turned to the dead ninja.

"We are team 6," I whispered to thin air. "My lucky number."

I sat on his bloodied chest and stabbed the kunai back into his heart. Right through his sternum.

"How Lucky Am I?" I screeched.

I fisted my hands and broke the body's nose. The other snapped it's head to the side.

"They Are Dead!"

I hit again and again. Seething. Seeing only red.

"And I'm Crazy!" I hissed, not caring if blood splattered on my face.

"I'm Talking To Myself." Another bone snapped.

"Cause my Teammates are Dead!"

My rage exploded and I can't say I remember the twenty minutes that passed after it.

All I remember is coming back to blood, my fists busted, bone, teeth, and brains all around us. I raised myself off him and spat on the unrecognizable corpse.

I looked back down at my teammates before stumbling back.

I slide down the nearest tree and watched the corpses of two kids, not two meters from me.

"I'm sorry," I told them.

"It's all my fault."

Silence answered me.

I curled my body into my knees but kept my eyes on the bodies.

"I antagonized them."

I felt weak but knew that if I fell asleep then I would not wake up.

I'm an idiot.

Looking down at my bloodied hands, I curled my right open, wincing at my busted knuckles.

I'm a wreck.

I looked back up as the moon illuminated the bodies of my team.

What was this?

I watched as small black speckles rose from Tsubasa's body, slowly swirling.

 _"Okaa-san," I asked looking up from a book on the clans of Kohona._

 _"Yes?" she asked, sitting beside me writing out her own mission report._

 _"What happens to the bugs when an Aburame dies?"_

 _She looked up at me and blinked._

 _"I'm not sure, why do you want to know?" she asked._

 _"In this book." I started pointing out the line with my 4-year-old finger. "They say it is one of the most beautiful sights in Kohona."_

I didn't wipe the tears from my eyes as I watched the bugs that had fed off his chakra swirl like a tornado, the light of the moon flickering off their back. Many different colors shined, spiraling outwards and into the sky.

"Thank you, guys," I whispered. "I had a great time on Team 6."

I looked down to the ground and watched the blood pool around me.

Rokuro.

The bastard had dug deep within me, despite me cauterizing the wound.

I fought the darkness, as it crept in from the sides.

I don't want to sleep.

I have to keep watch over them.

A lone buzzing came from the tail end of the bug tornado. It looped before landing on my hand.

"You," I whispered. "Are you going to stay with me?"

She cleaned her black and purple head and flattened herself against my blood soaked hand.

"I'll close my eyes," I told her. "For a minute."

"But Please,"

I breathed out

"Watch over them."

-.-

My mind was awake before my body.

It woke with the whisper that someone was there.

My eyes opened just enough to peer through my bangs.

A figure touched the ground behind my boys.

Who are you?

What do you want with them?

The figure's legs gave out as they looked them over.

"No," They whispered. "This can't be."

Why was their voice so familiar?

"No!" she cried.

Another figure appeared behind her, a sorrow expression on their face.

His face seemed a bit more familiar, but I couldn't place it.

"Tsubasa, Seiichi," the women cried, hitting the ground. "I'm sorry!"

I didn't move from my spot, covered in the shadow of the tree. Not three feet away from them.

Watching.

The man was suddenly coming towards me. I stayed, not moving, curled into myself.

Slowly, and calmly.

"Reika?" he whispered, his voice almost cracking.

I know this voice.

The female shot her head up, her eyes filled with water. A humongous bruise on her right temple.

She almost tripped getting around Tsubasa and Seiichi's bodies.

Why are they gone?

"Reika?" The man sat down in front of me.

My eyes shifted up to see his face.

I tensed as the women ran at me.

"Kushina!" He hissed.

She froze, her purple eyes widening in realization. His hand put a barrier between her and me.

Or was it between me and her?

I looked back at the man and slowly started to recognize him.

"Oji-chan," I whispered.

"It's me," he said.

Why was he speaking so quietly?

"Do you recognize me, Rei-chan."

I looked back up at the red-head and narrowed my eyes.

Why was she using my nickname?

The other two were dead. We will never be able to call them theirs again.

Glasses, Blueberry.

Clicking made me look at my hands.

The beetle had stayed.

"Yes," I said, realizing that I never answered.

She visibly relaxed.

"Can you tell me if you are hurt?" Sakumo asked.

I nodded.

"Concussion, broken nose, bruised ribs."

Why was my voice so even, again?

"What about your side?" Kushina said, softly.

I blinked.

"Cauterized it," I replied.

My body feels like my bones were steel rods. I didn't know if I could move.

"You are bleeding all over the floor, Reika-chan," Sakumo asked.

My eyes trailed down him, looking him over. He was okay.

"My attacker reopened it with his nails."

I forced my head to look at the puddle.

Kushina squeezed her eyes shut before forcing them open.

But tears were spilling over.

"But it's not all mine." I continued.

My eyes turned over to the Kumo corpse that I desecrated.

My mouth still tasted like iron and felt like it was full of gauze.

I moved my fingers and hissed in pain.

"I also busted my knuckles."

Sakumo smiled.

"You have to stop damaging your hands when you get angry." He joked.

My lips twitched.

"Sorry."

"Can you move Rei-chan?" Kushina asked me.

I inhaled for 5 seconds

Held for 20.

And exhaled for 10.

My fingers twitched and lifted my left hand off, the beetle flying up and landing in my hair, and let it lower to the ground, gasping as my elbow throbbed. I did the same to my right arm.

I gasped for breath and looked back up to the two adults.

Kushina is only 18.

18 and already lost her team. Her first.

She looked thoroughly beat up. But I could almost see the cuts closing on her.

The Kyubi makes sure she lives to see another day.

Thank you, Kyubi.

I extended my legs, hissing in pain.

Both adults tensed but did not move.

"I'm going to touch you now," Sakumo said. "Are you okay with that?"

I studied him, wanting to nod but couldn't.

"Yes." I slurred.

He was slow and gentle, as he lifted the bottom of my shirt.

"I'm going to leave you with Sakumo, okay?" Kushina asked.

"Why are you asking my permission?"

"You are leaking killing intent," Sakumo said.

My eyes shifted to him, before silently moving to my dead teammates.

I snickered before erupting in coughs, blood spurting out of my mouth.

"Reika." His hands glowed with green.

"Sorry, It's just funny that you are hesitating around a seven-year-old."

I caught Sakumo's eyes shift from me to the body of the Kumo nin.

"Oh, right."

Kushina got up and left to inspect the bodies.

She knelt beside them and closed their eyes, tears rolling down her face.

"You did good kid." My adoptive uncle said.

I snorted in disbelief despite the pain.

"If I did good, then they would be alive."

His eyes softened as he worked hard on my side, removing the half-burnt stitches and healing the wound to a lesser degree.

"I'm making it so that you will be okay for transportation." He told me.

"I have to report," I muttered, his chakra soothing me.

"Later, my niece." He whispered. "Sleep for now."

My eyes were closing on their own.

"But I have a concussion." I slurred.

"You'll be fine."

He smiled.

"Sleep."

A wet drop landed on my pant leg.

Sakumo was crying.

And little did I know, so was I.

Why do the good ones always seem to die first?

-.-

Do you hate me?

This was the reason why I had a hard time getting out the last chapter. I didn't want to cut it off too abruptly, but it was getting too long. Just this chapter is 10K words.

Were you expecting this? When I was writing I swear I was crying, I got attached to Seiichi soon after I created him, while in this chapter, I got the pleasure of writing Tsubasa in more depth... Only to kill both of them. I hope I didn't overdo it with Reika's reaction, but I felt it needed to write her break down.

Please still love me...

Question: If both Rokuro and the Kumo ninja were after Reika... What do you think the Iwa ninja is after? As a bonus question, I also wanted to know if there was someone else you would have wanted to find her. Kushina alone? Her Mother? Father? Minato? Someone else?

Recommended Fanfic: Sealkeeper: He who Binds by **Syynistre.** Have you ever read a story in which had you in chills, while sick to your stomach... While grinning your face off. I swear, there is a scene that had been doing all three at the same time. People were staring at me like I was crazy as I stood in line at Starbucks. I swear This story drives me insane. It's great!  
I'm also going to recommend Eastern Suns by **Silverfootsteps.** This story as well had me in chills. This story takes place in a modern AU in which Sakura takes a badass role from the beginning. While I do have some issues with Canon Sakura, this author writes her in a way which makes me grin as well. And I am always down for some badass female lead characters. The ending is a shocker and I was left gaping in response. The story is really great. It doesn't help that I'm a fan of ItachiXSakura.

Thank you all for your views, favorites, follows and reviews. All comments help me and give me ideas of whatIi should do next. Even though this story had a solid plan, there is always room to move things around.

Ravenmocker6.

P.S Asina- (Female Ass in latin)

 **Dark Rose Charm,** I have to admit... that would be really adorable. Chibi Neji toddling around following Reika. It would be super cute. Thanks for the encouragement my loyal Reviewer, I can always count on you to review. And thank you for understanding, it means a lot!

 **curlystruggle,** You know, how about you tell me. I just write, and for some reason, stuff like this comes out. It doesn't help my recent chapters have all been planned thoroughly before I start writing. Thanks for the encouragement!

 **Heart** , Really? In what way?

 **GreyMoon Huntress** , Thanks very much. I was nervous writing him because we have such little information about him. Thank you for the encouragement. Well, it wasn't her parents... I think a lot of readers are hoping that Neji comes through. Itachi isn't born yet so it will have to take a bit before he is even mentioned. As for Shusui, he would be like two at this point, so even for him, it's going to take a while. Well, as for romance... I'm honestly stuck on who to chose. I have solid timelines for both of them, but the hard part is which storyline do I want to give you all. Don't worry it won't happen for a while, so I still have time to decide but if you tell me who you wish for her to end up with, it might influence my decision a bit more. What I am going to hint at for you, **and everyone else who takes the time to read this** , is that the two people I'm stuck are from two different villages. One is from Kohona... while the other one is not.

 **Mr. Meowington** , First of all, welcome to Karma's a Bitch. I think Reika does know it in her heart but is crossing her fingers that it happens because Obito deserves to be happy. You have no idea how hard it is to write Gai. I try so hard, but its odd... maybe because I've always been better at writing characters like Kakashi, or Sasuke, or even Gaara. characters that are so far in turmoil that they start to lose parts of themselves. Ding ding ding, If I had a cookie you'd get it. But it wasn't one death... but two... Thank you for the compliment, I'm might not always keep to my schedule, but I promise I will update at one point or another. For the topic of shipping her with someone... As I told **GreyMoon Huntress** , I'm stuck between two people right now for shipping her with. But they take her on two different parts, causing people who are going to die, to live and people who are going to die, to live. But either way, she will not be with someone at least until she is 15 years old. So you can make up your mind if you want her to be with someone before that. Anyway, don't be shy to tell me who you want her shipped with if you find someone.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21- Aftermath

 _I was on a skyscraper. One of those tall ones that seemingly towers over cities. But there was no city in sight. I was too high for that. Instead, only clouds surrounded me._

 _Unafraid, my feet dangled off the edge, swinging back and forth as I looked on._

 _I wasn't really thinking of anything._

 _Nothing important that is._

 _My voice carried in the soft wind that blew my brown hair out in front of me._

 _I had been singing in a language I was beginning to forget. A language I was no longer comfortable in. A language that made me anxious._

 _When did I ever sing anyway?_

 _"Reika?"_

 _I ignored the voice, letting myself relax, feeling safe._

 _Like nothing really mattered anymore._

 _"You have to wake up, Reika."_

 _I looked over, ending the song and looked into the brown eyes of the one who betrayed me._

 _"I'm so proud of you., She told me._

 _"But you need to go back."_

 _"I'm I dead?" I asked her, I was surprised that I didn't feel any anger towards her._

 _She grinned._

 _"Nope." She said. "You are very much alive, but dreaming."_

 _I hummed, before looking at the setting sun._

 _"Why do you haunt me?" I asked her._

 _"I don't." She stood on the edge of the building, her feet right on the edge. "I'm only a fragment of your imagination, Reika."_

 _"I don't like it when you call me that," I told her._

 _She laughed._

 _"That's who you are now, Rei." She grinned, her eyes and face so full of life. "Shelby does not exist anymore."_

 _"You don't belong in the other world anymore."_

I opened my eyes and was surprised to see nothing. To my right, I could hear a soft beeping that echoed throughout the room. My fingers twitched, touching the scratchy blanket had been put on me and the equally scratchy cot I was laying on.

My immediate reaction was to move my left arm, but I was surprised that it was strapped to my chest. Instead, I moved my right.

It took effort but I finally managed to lift it. My fingers touched my face, flinching at the pain even a soft touch seemed to bring. Soon enough I got used to the pain and was able to work my way up to feel the bandages that were wrapped around my eyes.

I didn't like it.

Delicately and with some trouble, I unraveled the white material until it fell away.

The light was bright around me, but thankfully not all white like I had expected. This meant one thing. I was not in a hospital.

I blinked before removing the crust from my eyes so that I could see better. I was in a large green tent, with the roof held up with poles. It seemed to be some sort of medical tent if the many empty cots littering the room and machines were anything to go by.

I looked down and noticed that I wasn't in a hospital gown either. Instead, I was in an overgrown black T-shirt, my arm trapped under it. I lacked pants, but the overgrown shirt seemed to cover me good enough.

The idea of being dressed in someone else's clothes made me nervous. I stuck my nose in the t-shirt and took a sniff. My lips crept upwards as I recognized the scent.

Sakumo.

Suddenly, the last events that I remembered surfaced in my mind and hit me hard.

Sitting up quickly, I hissed in pain and curled into my stomach.

Fucking wound.

Breathing calmly, I ripped the IV out of my arm with my teeth and shut off the heart machine before removing the monitors.

My bare feet touched the dirt, but they didn't stay there. Weak, my legs didn't hold out very well, and I collapsed.

"Whoa."

I caught myself on my right hand, little rocks biting into my knees and palm.

I'm alive.

My legs wobbled as I stood slowly, using the cot as a brace and looked around. There was no one around.

Directly across from me was the fluttering flap of the medical tent, and thus my first destination.

My fist passed the curtain and I moved it out of the way to stumble through.

I squinted, trying to cover the sun with my only available hand and slowly allowed the light to dim and for the color to assault my eyes.

Blue, brown and green.

Sky, ground, and trees.

Tents littered the ground. Shinobi moving between them, sitting and chatting near a fire pit, or off to the side. A few were even sleeping in trees and whatnot, probably awaiting their team to start patrols.

My eyes caught sight of the nearest shinobi and I made my way towards him. He was sleeping with his back to a tree, not a few feet away from the tent I had come from.

"Excuse me," I asked, standing over him.

An eye peeked open and he stared at me in confusion. He blinked that one eye before opening them both.

"Uh." He looked at the over-sized black t-shirt I was using and my bare legs before looking at me in the eye. "Why is there a half naked kid in front of me?"

My eyebrow twitched.

"Do you know where Uzumaki-sensei and Hatake-san are?" I asked.

"Uhh." He blinked again, hesitating.

"I'll find them myself, then," I said turning around and fed up with his attics.

"Wow, wait for me, kid."

The ninja got up and approached me cautiously.

"How about you go back to bed, and I'll send for him?" he said.

I deadpanned.

"Just bring me to him," I said, losing patience.

I needed out of here.

He pointed to the tent.

"Be a good kid and go back to bed."

"How about you shut up and do what you are asked," I growled losing patience.

"Hideyoshi is right Reika." A voice behind me said. "You did not look very good this morning."

I turned and looked up at Sakumo.

And the man did not seem happy.

"Let's get you back to bed." I blinked before looked around.

"Where is Sensei?" I asked.

"What the hell!" The man named Hideyoshi hissed. "You want Taicho then all of a sudden you want someone else? Make up your mind."

I ignored him.

"She's on her way." My uncle said before picking me up.

I thrashed.

"Let go" I hissed.

"And have you run off? Not a chance." He said holding me close, hand under my bottom to stop the shirt from riding too high.

He took me back into the tent despite my distaste.

"You shouldn't have left, Reika." He told me, putting me back in bed.

I didn't pout. I swear. But I did notice how his eyes narrowed at IV needle on the floor, and the heart monitor turned off.

"You haven't been cleared to move yet." He said.

"I don't want to be here," I told him.

He sighed.

"Trust me when I say that you have to." He argued.

"I walked, I'm fine," I argued.

He narrowed his eyes and looked at my side, almost as if he knew about the throbbing.

He shook his head.

"You're in my encampment." He said pulling rank. "I'm in charge and you are ordered to stay in bed."

I gritted my teeth and looked away.

He pulled the loose cover back on me and sat next to me. I noticed how his eyes seemed to soften.

"I'm sorry, Reika." He said. "Kushina and I wanted to be here when you woke, but we did not expect you to wake so soon."

His hand landed on my head and he rested it there.

"How long have I been asleep?" I asked.

"12 hours."

I rose an eyebrow.

"You thought I was going to sleep for longer than that?"

He sighed.

"You have chakra exhaustion." He said. "I'm surprised you can move."

"Is it true?"

Our eyes snapped up as Kushina ran into the room.

"You're awake!" she said. I blinked as she childishly hopped onto the cot as Sakumo got up.

I grimaced as the ricochet as it shifted my body.

"How are you feeling?" She asked. She still wore her Jonin uniform but lost the Chunin vest.

"Fine," I answered. "What happened to your vest?"

She scratched her cheek.

"I ruined it," she admitted. "Turns out the Iwa ninja used a sword and was pretty good.."

I blinked.

"Was? You killed him?" I asked.

She nodded before looking to the side.

Sakumo sighed beside me.

"I'll go get a medical-nin." He said getting up before he made his way out of the tent.

I shifted and winced, before straightening my back.

"Reika."

My eyes traveled the face of my teacher and felt a knot curl in my throat.

"I'm sorry."

I blink as our words echoed each other.

"Why are you sorry?"

Catching her eye we looked at each other in surprise, once again.

"Stop copying me," Kushina said.

I lifted my arm scratching my head.

"I'm not," I said dumbfounded, looking as my nails came back crusted with blood.

We fell silent again, looking anywhere but each other.

"I'm sorry I failed you guys."

It was a whisper, something that if I was any further, I would not have heard.

"Failed?"

"I left you guys alone." Her fists gripped the sheets, pushing up the material. "And now Tsubasa and Seiichi are dead."

A beaten face and a jagged cut on the nect flood into my mind.

I was frozen in my spot, not sure If I should, or could, move.

"I fail as a sensei." Her voice was shaking, and the awkward fuck I was, I didn't know how to handle this.

It wasn't even her fault.

They had wanted me. If Rokuro didn't get to me, the Kumo ninja would have.

This wasn't her fault.

"It's not yours." I started. "It's mine."

Her head snapped up.

"What are you talking about!" she hissed. I jumped in surprise, never having heard her angry like that before.

I thought Sakumo was only going to get the medical-nin. Where did he go, it's been long enough...

This time, it was my turn to look down, like the cot blanket was the most interesting thing in the world.

"I sent them ahead," I told her. "We should have stayed together, then we would have all been here."

My voice caught as I thought back to my boys. The busted up face, and the jagged slit throat.

"You did what you thought was best." Her voice wavered and I looked away.

"You tried to protect them."

"I left you three alone."

I gripped my hands a bit tighter.

"You trusted us to protect each other and get out of there," I said, trying to will the tears away.

"I told them to go, and they listened to me."

"They were ten and you're only seven, Reika!" her voice raised itself. And she let go of her part of the blanket to grab at her hair.

"We are ninja," I argued.

"You Are Children!"

I blinked, looking down.

Seiichi and Tsubasa were children. I was not.

"Maybe it is not either of our faults," I whispered. "Maybe, it was just bad luck."

Her tears finally fell down her cheeks and she cried into her hands.

A single tear rolled down my cheek but I whipped it away before she could realize that I was getting emotional.

Don't cry, crying is a weakness.

Why cry when you can work harder so that it doesn't happen again.

I moved to the side, to allow Kushina to move beside me.

She pulled me into her arms gently.

"I'm sorry." She cried. "I'm so sorry."

Raising my only functioning arm I curled it around us, holding her close.

She's only 18.

Kushina just turned 18 and she lost half her team.

I was 7.

"Thank you." She whispered soon after.

I laid beside her but didn't say anything.

"Thank you for surviving."

I looked away.

"I'm not," I confessed. "I would give my life to have either one of those two back, even for an instant."

Tears still streaming down her cheeks as she whispered her response, her hand disappearing behind her, pulling out two scrolls.

She set them between us, and the tears fell harder.

I swallowed my dry throat as my eyes took in the black bands on each of them.

"I would too."

-.-

"You should be good for slow travel in about a week." The medical-nin said healing up my elbow.

It had seemed like when I dislocated it, I had spiral fractured it as well. Meaning, I ended up breaking the bone when I jerked my arm from its socket, spinning it.

"Thank you sensei," I responded. Kushina was gone, something about a letter from the Hokage and I was left alone with the medical-nin.

"You really scared us, kid," he said, looking down at my arm. I watched in fascination as the Green chakra encircle it, and healing it. I could feel the slow turn of the bone as it repositioned itself. The best thing was that it didn't hurt one bit.

"When Hatake-san and Uzumaki-san brought you in here, we were sure you were dead." He continued. "Full of blood, and unconscious."

A shiver rolled down my back as I felt the bone click into place.

I was tempted to use my Byakugan to see what it was doing instead of just feeling it, but I knew it wouldn't fly with him. I had chakra exhaustion, using more chakra will just end up burning my network.

"You smelled of burnt flesh, and your face looked like it was slammed into the wall a dozen times."

He talked on like I really cared, and I was happy to let him. Less time making me speak, the better.

"Your arm was twisted at a funny angle and your fists were ripped to shreds."

That was from the Kumo-nin's teeth. I blinked in surprise.

Rokuro said his name… what was it?

"Imagine to our surprise that you had cauterized your own wound and had chakra exhaustion on top of everything else!"

It started with an M…

"Hatake-san won't give us the details, but I can tell you put up one hell of a fight." He said. "Even right now, I don't understand how you can be moving around, though you really shouldn't be moving at all."

Maido?

Masa?

Make?

Maki.

Yeah, his name was Maki. A Kumo ninja. The one who killed my boys.

"You know, you reminded me of some sort of wild animal. You must have something you hold dear to be able to fight that hard."

I wonder how and why Kumo, Root, and Iwa were working together…

I know Root would have never let them leave the country. But what did they promise Iwa? The scroll? They are Earth country why do they need ores when they probably have them everywhere.

"Isa-sensei."

I blinked out of my trance and found Sakumo standing just inside the flap.

"Yes, Taicho?" he responded, slowly letting go of the technique to give Sakumo his full attention.

"How is she healing."

I rolled my eyes.

"I'm right here," I answered. His lips tightened into a small smirk.

"Well, her arm is healed as much as I can, there is nothing I can do for the chakra exhaustion." He took a deep breath before looking back at me as if he was trying to remember what else I had. It wasn't that big of a list… Right?

"Knuckles were somewhat healed. But her side might be a problem, it will definitely scar. I also took away the bruises on her face."

Isa turned to me and patted my head.

"When did you learn how to set noses, Kid." He asked me. "You did a great job with yours, there won't be much of a notch in it since it was set immediately and correctly."

I shrugged his hand off my head.

"Don't remember."

And that was the truth. Over the years I've broken it so many times, therefore putting it back in place is a cake walk.

"That's good," Sakumo interrupted before turning to me. "The Iwa border is sending over their rotation tomorrow. Kushina and you will be escorted home by them."

"Tomorrow?" Isa-sensei asked surprised. "She has to stay in bed for at least another week or two!"

Sakumo shook his head.

"Reika and Kushina have to return to Kohona as soon as possible." He emphasized.

"Why the rush?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

"Kid, you were hit with a joint attack from Iwa and Kumo." He said. "This Means War."

Was it fear?

Anticipation?

Disgust?

Whatever it was, it rose in my throat, threating to spill over onto the cot.

"Do you know who they are sending?" I asked. His eyes seemed to soften. "From the border?"

"No, I don't," he replied, patting my head.

Do you think I am a wimp if I say that I wanted my parents?

Probably, right?

I was a grown-ass woman.

"Don't worry, they will send trustworthy people."

I looked back up at my uncle and nodded.

"Alright," Ise-sensei sighed. "You should get some rest, we will do one last healing session tomorrow before you leave."

I swallowed, retreating into myself.

"Do as he says," Sakumo said. "You'll be home before you know it."

Home? Without Tsubasa and Seiichi?

Ise-sensei guided my body down and I watched them get up and move outside the tent.

Listening I followed their movements before their voices fell away.

"What am I going to do?" I whispered to myself raising my left arm to the roof of the tent.

Root. The secret Anbu. An organization I should have no knowledge about. A group headed by one of the Hokage's advisors. A man that has more power than I ever could. A man that could tear me apart with nothing more than a nod.

Anger boiled from within me, and I desperately wished that I was able to sneak out to the forest. I needed to punch something, and I needed to punch something now.

Root. The group that so desperately wanted me. Was I that noticeable? Did I seem easy to break? Was I that unwanted that Danzo would be willing to make me go missing? Is it because Inoichi reported that I was desensitized to death?

In what way is it wise to try and break me? Many have tried Danzo. Many have tried. But I won't give in…

My arm dropped onto my face, hiding it in the crook of my arm.

But if I don't give in, who is it going to be? Will he be even more determined to get me? Will he look at me like I am a challenge to break and remake into his perfect soldier? Will he enjoy killing off all my friends until I'm totally alone?

Who will be next?

Kakashi? Obito? Gai? Rin?

My teeth grinded against each other, making my jaw hurt.

What if I try to report it? To the Hokage? Will he do something about it?

"Tch."

As if he would. Danzo has his permission to let loose. The Hokage is weak.

Someone else? Kushina? Sakumo? Minato? Oka-san? Otou-san? Fugaku? Umino-sensei? Who would believe me? Who would believe a 7-year-old in response to a Hokage's advisor?

Would it be better if I just gave up and let him absorb me into Root? Will this stop the attack against the people I care?

Fuck.

"Tsubasa, Seiichi."

I grit my teeth some more.

"I'm sorry."

-.-

The next day, I did not wake up on my own.

Harsh whispers were beside me, but I continued to breathe as if I was asleep.

"I don't know what to do, Minato!" My heart broke at the tone of Kushina's voice. The desperation, weakness and cracking of it told me she had been crying. Or rather still was.

"It's all my fault!" she whispered.

Hushing came from a masculine voice I recognized as Minato's.

When did he get here?

"Kushina," he said, a rustling of clothing was heard and I heard him kiss her. "You didn't ask for this. This isn't your fault, None of this."

"The Iwa ninja wanted the Kyuubi." She hissed.

Minato hushed her again, and their voices quieted.

"How did Iwa find out about it?" the blond-haired future-hero asked.

"Apparently Ryouta told him when he was sent to spy on Kohona and they enlisted the help of the Kumo ninja who had also got through the borders long before we tightened them."

"Shit," It was strange hearing Minato swear, but even I thought those exact words.

"Do you know if either ninja got the news out that you are the Jinchuriki of the nine-tails?"

I hear the swish of her long hair on the clothes.

"I don't think they told the Kumo ninja about me, and apparently the Iwa ninja thought that I would be a great present to give the Tsuchikage."

"That is good at least." He said A weight descended on my bed, unexpectedly.

I let my eyebrows frown down and turned onto my side, my face facing them.

"She'll be awake soon," Kushina said. "She usually frowns when she's about the wake-up."

She laughed without humor.

"She looks so relaxed when she's asleep, but when she wakes up, her frown appears like she has the world set on her shoulders."

Ouch.

That one hurt.

A hand landed on my head and I let my body twitch again. It curled into my hair and pulls through it slowly petting me.

"Any information about the Kumo ninja? Or Ryouta?"

Another swish.

"Reika is going to have to report to the Hokage too, whatever she knows."

The cot shifted again.

"She didn't tell you?"

Another swish.

"She thinks she's acting brave right now, acting like everything is okay. But she has nightmares." Kushina whispered. "She had one just before you got here, I can't ask it of her right now."

She knew that?

"It's your job as her sensei to make sure you get a report from her," he replied. "She is stronger than this, Kushina. She's a ninja."

"I don't want to ask for a report in case it all becomes too much on her. Minato, I think they were killed right in front of her."

That's wrong.

They were killed because of me.

Silence absorbed us before Minato spoke.

"What do you mean by that, Reika?"

Oh shit.

I guess that answers that question of when was the best time to 'wake up.'

I opened my eyes and looked up, catching Kushina pulling back her hand from my hair.

I winced, slowly lifting my upper body into a sitting position, trying to not put too much pressure on my side.

"You were right sensei," I said, playing with the ragged blanket. "Before you left, you said that the Kumo ninja doesn't just want my Kekkei Genkai."

"Reika..."

"They wanted me because I am a girl."

"So those two died?" Minato trailed off.

"Because I was promised to the Kumo-nin." I glanced up passed my bangs to see the blond haired man rubbed a hand through his hair. "They were in the way."

Arms circled me and pulled me into their body.

"It's not your fault, Reika." My teacher whispered. Emotion filled my throat. "We were just an unlucky team."

"Let go of me," I whispered.

I didn't want to be held. The warmth was making me edgy.

I needed control. I needed it back.

I tried to push her away but she clung to me like glue.

"No," She whispered. "Not until you say it."

"Then why don't you say it!" I hissed, anger raging out of me.

Kushina stilled around me.

"She got you there," Minato grinned from beside me.

"You knew she was awake!" Kushina let go of me, jumped up and grabbed her hair. I was surprised to see fear written in her eyes. "You heard everything!"

I exhaled, relieved that she was no longer in my bubble.

Only then did I realize the mess I had gotten myself into.

"I suspected she was when I sat on the bed," Minato admitted. "But only then."

"I have no idea what you are talking about," I said looking away.

Minato seemed to get exactly what I was trying to say with the comment, but Kushina, on the other hand, did not.

"Don't lie to me, Reika!" she hissed. Her hands were shaking at her side, as she went on an emotional rollercoaster.

"Kushina." Minato caught her attention. "She is saying that she did not hear the information that is way over her clearance level."

A light seemed to click in her brain and she looked down at the ground.

I fiddled with the blanket and tried to figure out what was going to happen next.

I didn't want them to know that I knew for a long time coming, but life really doesn't work the way you want. They will have to tell the Hokage for sure, and thus a target is repainted florescent on my back.

Damn my anger to hell, it makes me loose-lipped.

But I knew the one thing I had to do at this moment, and so I spoke.

"But even if I did hear this secret of yours," I admitted, looking up into her face.

Her eye caught mine, worry swirling throughout it.

"I doubt it would make me like you less." I fought not to looked away, a blush decorating my cheek. My feelings had to be conveyed. She had to know that I was afraid of her, that I was on her side. That I believed that Kurama and she are different. And that it didn't change my perception of her.

"Reika." She sat next to me once again, her eyes watering. "Thank you."

She kissed my forehead, right over my seal causing me to blush

"And one last thing."

She grinned, her tears almost spilling over.

"You're hair stinks."

"Shut up!" I hissed, flopping the blankets over my head and hiding underneath.

I groaned in pain but refused to bring the covers back over my head.

"Go away!"

My guests laughed before Minato got up off the cot.

"On another note, how are you feeling Reika?" he asked.

I took a few calming breaths before pulling the blanket back down.

"Okay, I'm still sore but I'm okay," I admitted, playing down my injuries.

In reality, my whole body was still sore, my joints stiff and my side and arm ached. I doubt I would be able to walk very far, let alone run to make the trip.

Blinking, I looked back up at the man.

"But why are you here?" I asked, confused. "You were not supposed to be on this border."

He laughed.

"I'm part of your escort," he admitted.

"You came form Iwa?" I asked.

He nodded.

"I went only to check something out for Hokage-sama there but he requested that I help with this."

I fell silent, thinking about what he said.

"Is everything okay there?" I asked.

"I can't tell you if your parents are there." He admitted.

I sighed before I caught movement from the entrance.

"We are ready to go when you are, Minato!" a voice called.

Minato lifted his head.

"We will be out soon." He called.

Kushina looked down at me and gave me her bravest smile.

"Are you ready to go home?" she asked.

Home? Without Seiichi and Tsubasa?

My panic must have shown on my face because Kushina pulled me back to reality with a touch.

Grounding me. Her touch grounded me here. In the Now. Tsubasa and Seiichi are gone. They are dead…

"Where are my things?" I suddenly asked.

Kushina blinked.

"We burned your clothes, they were too damaged." She said. "But I have your bag here."

"I don't care, what about the other stuff?" I asked. "My tools."

The lighter. Tsubasa's lighter.

"Right here, Reika." I looked up to see my Uncle coming through the flap.

My eyes landed on the pouches in his hand and I was off the bed in an instant.

"Wow," Minato caught me as I almost fell.

I didn't even thank him before I was off to my uncle.

Shocked, I don't even think he realized that I grabbed my pouches from his hand before I was collapsing at his feet.

My hands, no matter how sore, ripped through the material before they felt the metal of the lighter.

"Good," I whispered.

I flicked it opened watching the flame for a second before closing it and holding it to my chest.

"Wasn't that Tsubasa's?" Kushina asked.

I nodded.

"I stole it from him before I made them leave," I whispered.

Comforting? Was it comforting having something from my dead teammate around me?

"Reika," Sakumo bent down before gathering me in his arms.

"Why do you keep picking me up?" I growled back.

He laughed, the vibration echoing throughout his own and my body.

"Because I Can." He smiled, in his other hand, he grabbed my equipment from where I had thrown it. "As long as you are still a child, I will pick you up. Afterall, you children are what makes old people like me look to the future."

My mouth became dry as he walked toward Minato and Kushina.

That asshole.

I hid my head in his neck.

He admitted that I was the only reason why he was alive. And that he could continue to look to the future. He made it.

"Then what am I going to wear?" I asked as he dropped me on the side of the bed.

"You can continue to wear my shirt, I'll take it back next time I see you," Sakumo said.

He's planning to return home.

"Pants.." I emphasized. "What can I wear as pants."

The three adults looked at each other, trying to see if the others had an idea.

"Oh, I know!" I should have known the response was going to be ridiculous when Kushina piped up. She went to the station that was there before coming back with bandages.

"Hands up!" she said.

Narrowing my eyes, I stared at her like she went bonkers.

"That's a good idea!" Minato said and raised my hands for me.

"What are you.."

I trailed off as she tied the bandages around my waist, being careful around my side.

"Now it looks less like a shirt and more like a Kimono."

Oh, and she looked so proud.

My eyes caught Sakumo's amusing ones, and he really did try to hold back his laughter.

"You know, it isn't too bad." He teased. He handed my gear to Kushina who placed it inside my small bag that somehow had appeared. I had left it in the clearing where we were attacked. And not for the first time I beat myself over not bringing extra clothes.

"I'm not getting a choice, am I?" I asked.

"Don't worry Reika, you'll have two days of embarrassment and then you'll be home." Minato bent down beside me and presented his back.

"Hop on." He said. "I'll be carrying you back."

I swallowed, before looking back at Sakumo.

He grinned.

"I placed a letter in with your stuff if you don't mind giving it to Kakashi." He asked.

"I'll be home when I can."

I nodded and reluctantly placed my arms around Minato's neck. He supported my body with his arms, hoisting me up.

He was warm, not a suffocating warm like the others, but a gentle.

I didn't like it but I had no choice.

"Comfy?" the blond-haired man asked. my arms tightened a bit, and I hid my face in his back as the sunlight assaulted my eyes.

"Finally, let's get going." A man said, taking up step beside Minato.

"Where are the others?" Kushina asked, form the other side.

"At the entrance, they are waiting for us." I closed my eyes and by the time we got the edge of the camp, I had been lulled to sleep once again.

-.-

"What the fuck happened here."

My eyes slowly opened, and I took in my surroundings. It was different compared to how I left it days ago. The smell was disgusting, and the body was obviously no longer there.

"Let's keep moving," Minato called. "We still have at least half a day left to run, before we can take a break."

My eyes noticed the earth wall I had made two days ago. So I know that the blood spatter surrounding the ground had been Rokuro's body.

I almost felt sick, thinking about it.

Almost because it wasn't the most disgusting thing I've ever seen.

My body felt numb and cold. So familiar yet so different.

"Reika, are you okay?"

My eyes slide to the side where Kushina stood next to us.

I stayed silent but glanced over at the wall. Seconds later, a voice called out.

"Ew! Holy shit, there is an eyeball here!"

I flinched, and before I could stop myself I hid my head in Minato's back once again.

"Oi! Dickwad!" She yelled, tone full of anger. "Let's get the hell out of here!"

Without waiting for a response, Minato and her left into the chared area, where I had let explosive tags rip and destroyed the area then into the trees once again.

"Sorry, Rei-chan," Minato whispered to me. "I thought you were still asleep."

"It's fine," I said back.

"I wonder who did that? It looked like it was a bloody animal." One of the other ninjas asked from behind up. "Must be one messed up person."

Kushina lagged back, taking them with her.

Then I heard high pitched screaming.

"Drama queens," Minato muttered. "It's going to be okay, Rei-chan. We'll be back home soon enough."

I stayed silent, refusing to speak, but definitely took the time to think it.

I didn't want to go home.

Not without my boys.

Let me rephrase that.

I looked to my bag that Kushina held as she caught up to us. All the body scrolls were inside, including Seiichi and Tsubasa.

I wanted to go back to Kohona with my boys, alive.

My eyes closed again, and I gave in once again to fatigue.

-.-

The rest of the journey had followed the same routine. Sleeping, listening, not speaking, and mentally beating the snot out of myself.

Fear curled up inside me as we spotted the gates, and for the first time, I was glad that Minato was carrying me. If I had been walking, there was no way I would have been able to get through them.

I hid my head in his back and tried to make myself as little as possible.

Tsubasa.

Seiichi.

"Go ahead to the Hokage," Minato instructed to the rest of the team.

"You guys are not coming?" One of the men turned around. "You are the team leader, you have to be there."

Minato nodded back to me.

"We are going to get her clothes, please tell Hokage-sama that we will be there in 15 minutes."

I watched the streets go by, passed the Hyuga gates, through the main courtyard and out towards the side streets where my family's house laid.

"Where is your key?" Kushina asked as we stepped up to the entrance of my house.

The little tan house.

"In the cleaning compartment of my kunai set," I muttered.

I swallowed.

The kunai set that Tsubasa got me for my birthday.

I squeezed my eyes shut before hearing that familiar lock.

"Traps?" Minato asked.

I shook my head.

"Okaa-san and Otou-san are too afraid that I will get hurt, so they don't put any," I replied.

We walked in and the two teenagers took off their shoes.

Feet padding, I guided them to my bedroom.

That room was the worst.

The room was empty, just like how I left it. but I could almost picture Tsubasa sitting on my desk chair, with Seiichi laying on my bed with my stuffed owl in his arms.

I think he loved that thing more then I did.

I blinked and the image was gone, replaced once more with emptiness.

"I'll go start a bath for you." Minato left the room, leaving me alone with Kushina.

"Clothes?" Kushina grinned. I tilted my head to the side, watching her.

"Your faking happiness right now," I observed.

She sighed.

"Didn't you ever hear that if you pretend everything is okay, eventually it will be?" she asked, before ignoring me and opening my drawers.

If it was anyone else, I would have beaten them over the head with the nearest thing. But it wasn't so I let Kushina look through my drawers for my uniform. I had nothing to hide anyway. At least not there.

Looking to the right, I couldn't help but notice Obito's present.

The last person who held that was Seiichi.

I couldn't help but grab it pulling it to my face and inhaling.

My lips picked up slightly.

It smelled like him.

Replacing it on my bed, I looked back up as Kushina grabbed my spare kimono top, undershirt and leggings. Another red obi and underwear were put with it.

"Let's get you washed up." She bent down and I hooked my arms around her neck, similar to what I did for Minato the whole way here.

We moved out of my room, into the hallway then into the bathroom just in time to see Minato getting up from testing the water.

"I'll wait outside." He said as Kushina placed me on the toilet. He left us, closing the door soon after.

"I can do it myself," I told Kushina as she untied the bandages she had placed on my waist.

"You are still injured, and we don't want you to hurt yourself more then you are now." She pulled my shirt up off my chest leaving me only in my underwear.

"I feel like I'm three again," I grumbled as she took that too.

Taking my hand, she helped me stand, despite my wobbly feet and slip into the tub.

If I had any dignity, I would have blushed at my nakedness.

But being a cage fighter, you lose that. When someone sets fire to your shirt and you have to lose it during a fight. Or if the doctor decides to stitch you up in the middle of the dressing rooms. Men end up looking at you like you are a piece of meat.

I hissed, as the water touched my side, and looked down at the healing wound.

It looked like raw hamburger meat.

Curious, I let my hand pass over it, ignoring the pain it caused me. The skin felt like it too twisting and bumpy.

"That is going to be one badass scar," Kushina said, pulling up a container and wetting my hair.

My hair was getting long, easily running down my back, ending near my tailbone.

I raised my hands to the shampoo but the bottle was taken from me.

"Let me," she said.

"I'm not useless." I hissed.

Kushina grinned sadly.

"I know," she squeezed some out and lathered her hands, before running it through my hair. "Both Minato and I know it."

Her hands were soft, rubbing the dried blood that had accumulated and being careful of the tenderness I didn't know what there.

"Then why are you treating me like I'm about to break!" I growled.

I bunched my hands together and tried to calm my raging anger that was poking at the surface.

Inhale 5

Hold 20

Exhale 10

"You are my last student." She said, trying her hardest to smile. "Let me pamper you a bit."

My anger disappeared as quick as it appeared and I let her continue to wash my hair, rince it then lather it up once more.

I bothered my hands by studying my nails, using my others to clean away the dark red blood that was under it.

While someone had obviously washed my body at the border, my nails and hair were obviously not that important. Ise-sensei had taken a look to see if there were any wounds, but he did not wash it.

Once cleaned to Kushina's inspection, she conditioned it as I convinced her to give me the soap.

From there, we worked to clean me as much as possible.

Draining the tub, she wrapped a fluffy white towel around me and helped me out.

Sitting back on the toilet, she handed me my underwear before grabbing my tights and helping me into them.

My undershirt was next before she slipped me into my kimono.

Out of my bag, came my kunai pouch which was tied to its place on my thigh, and my pouches that slipped onto the obi. I forwent my forehead protector, due to no longer having material to tie it to.

Reaching into the drawer, she pulled out my mother's brush. One that the woman had chased me with when I was younger.

Softly she brushed out my hair until it ran straight down; wet but presentable.

She then helped me stand before opening the door so that Minato knew we were done.

"Ready to go?" He asked us. "Hokage-sama is waiting for us."

I nodded my head, not trusting myself to speak.

He bent down in front of me soon after, and once again, I climbed onto his back.

He shifted my weight, so that he could carry me better and we left, Kushina locking the door.

You might be wondering.

Why did I let her take care of me? Why am I not so angry?

As of then, I was 32, in a seven-year-old body. I had my pride, and I wasn't as disabled as they were making me out to be.

Kushina was smiling, faking happiness. But her hands were shaking as she took care of me and it had nothing to do with her injuries from her fight. Those were gone already.

Thank you again, Kurama.

I could only imagine what she was going through.

Her shaking hands, touching me, washing me, verified my existence.

She was grounding herself.

By making sure I was alive.

I looked up and watched as we passed into the tower.

I closed my eyes and pictured the path that we took, knowing full well what that route consisted of.

Turning to the right, we moved up the stairs to the second floor. Turn left, walk 8 steps before stopping at the door.

Knocking rang in my skull and a voiced called for us to come in.

Opening my eyes, I watched as Minato brought us through the door. Stopping in front of the large desk, he bent down so I could get off his back. I took a few shaky steps and bowed as much as I could to the Hokage.

"Team 6 and Namikaze reporting in," Minato said taking the leadership role.

"Please be at ease," Hiruzen responded getting up.

I was surprised to see him go to the corner of the room where a chair had been placed. He picked it up and brought it forward himself.

"I heard that you gave us quite the scare, Reika-chan," he said placing the chair beside me. "You haven't recovered, so please sit down."

I blinked in surprise and before I had the chance to say anything, I was placed in the chair by my teacher.

"Stop manhandling me." I blushed flailing my arms.

The adults laughed at my reaction. Crossing my arms I traped them to my sides.

"As much as I would like to continue this discussion, I need to hear your report." The Third Hokage sat back in his chair and grabbed his pipe from his ashtray.

He placed the pipe between his lips, and I watched as the ashes burned brightly.

"Kushina-chan." Smoke tumbled out of his mouth. "Are you hurt?"

She shook her head.

"Just Reika."

He inhaled again.

"Then we better hurry so that she could be brought to the hospital to get checked out."

And I heard my teacher inhale before she started

"Everything had been going according to plan."

I listened closely as she described our extra precautions and how we took shifts in to, protecting the camp and scouting.

She spoke about Ryouta-Rokuro's strange behavior, and how strange the village looked when we got there.

"I took the initiative and diverted the mission to go straight to the border. On the way there, we were attacked by three ninjas. Ryouta, Iwa, and Kumo all working together. Since Iwa had a Jonin, I chose to draw him away from the kids, and I had confidence that they would be able to figure something out." She looked down at me, and I couldn't help but avoid her stare. "When I got the Iwa ninja alone, I got some information out of him."

"All three of them were working together for some reason." She told the Hokage. "Each for their own cause."

Her hand descended onto my shoulder and I couldn't help but flinch.

"We later found out that the Kumo ninja was after Reika for her Kekkei Genkai, and we are not completely sure what Ryouta was after, but I'm sure Reika could tell us about him. As for the Iwa Ninja, he was after two things."

"And these things are?"

Her eyes narrowed before she swallowed her nerves.

"They were after the scroll with the ores in it." She wrung her hands. "And they somehow found out about the Kyuubi and was after me."

Shit.

Why could she have waited to tell him about that?

The room fell silent, but not threateningly.

"So Reika-chan, you know." The Sandaime put the pipe down and leaned back in his chair.

It wasn't a question.

"They were discussing it while I slept a few days ago," I answered, trying to calm the shaking in my hands.

There was a reason why the Kyuubi was kept a secret. Other then the council, the Hokage, and Kushina herself, only Minato was supposed to know… right?

Why was that?

Did they kill all those who know?

Will I be?

"It was our own fault," Minato finally spoke.

"We thought she was sleeping and spoke about it." He stated. "Reika woke up because we were being too loud."

I looked over at the hand on my shoulder.

It squeezed me reassuringly.

"This is an S-rank secret." Hiruzen sighed, before looking at me. He was obviously contemplating something. "I have a feeling this isn't going to be the first S-rank secret that you come across."

I shrugged, but rubbed my nose on my shoulder, trying to hide my guilty smile.

"Finish your report, we will tackle that issue later."

Kushina nodded and continued where she left off.

"Apparently they had all met up and wanted something from Kohona so they decided to team up."

That is an understatement.

But I had to wait to give my own report.

"Apparently both the Iwa ninja and the Kumo ninja were spies, and since we closed our borders to foreign ninja, they were stuck inside with no way to contact the outside."

"So your status?" the Hokage asked.

"Should still be a secret to Iwa, Kumo and whoever Ryouta was."

The Hokage nodded, before marking up a small paper with a pen.

Amused, I recognized it as a post-it note.

"And this Iwa ninja, how is his condition?"

"Dead." She placed a scroll with Iwa marked on it on his desk. "But I wouldn't recommend opening him here. I lost control when I realized that he wanted to kill my team and take me away."

His eyes narrowed his arms folded themselves and he leaned into his desk.

"We will discuss that later as well."

I watched as Kushina looked down, almost ashamed.

"Continue."

"When I came to, the Iwa ninja was dead, and Sakumo had restrained me." Kushina's hand fell from my shoulder and she fisted them both her hands beside her.

So Sakumo also knows about her status as well.

"He told me that he and a couple of his men were patrolling the woods when a couple of beetles swarmed out and got their attention. They guided them before they lost the scent and disappeared. They separated and he found me before we took off to find my team."

She stopped and took a breath before I felt her eyes shift to me.

I refused to look away from the junction of the Hokage's desk.

"We came across an area where a barrage of explosive tags had blown up. Signs of a fight was clear, and we identified various jutsu. Blood was absolutely everywhere, with a corpse in the middle. It was no longer recognizable, the top of the body had been blasted to pieces."

Calming my breathing, I took my eyes off the desk and looked up at my teacher. Her purple eyes were hard, and she stared straight at the Hokage, reporting as a professional shinobi.

Another scroll joined the other.

The only thing that signaled her distress was the slight shaking of her hands.

Minato's face was unreadable, calm and collected.

"After slipping passed Seiichi's traps, we stopped in a clearing where three bodies laid, no other chakra signature in the area. There wasn't much of a fight there. It was obvious where the Kumo ninja got in, but once he caught up, the boys didn't seem last long."

Her hand took the bag off her shoulder and opened it, taking out the scrolls one by one. She placed it on The Sandaime's desk.

"The first thing we noticed was the kids. Tsubasa had been beaten severely, and died by intracerebral hemorrhaging while Seiichi's throat had been slit." She said. "At first we were puzzled as to why and how the Kumo ninja died, as we looked upon his smashed face. Thinking along that logic, the other body should have been Reika. Not Kumo."

Her voice croaked near the end and she had to pause. I watched her swallow, concentrating on her words.

Feelings were filling my core, and I really didn't want to deal with it.

I really really didn't want to deal with it.

"The Kumo ninja seemingly died from being paralyzed. Before being…"

I wanted to wince as she paused.

"I think pulverized was the word Sakumo said." Minato piped up.

I was surprised at the soft laugh that came out of Kushina.

"I think that is somewhat of an understatement." She continued. "You can get the report from T&I after the autopsy, but I doubt they will be able to recognize him."

Anxiety struck me again as I wondered what that was going to classify me as?

Will I be a loose cannon? Will Inoichi take me off duty? I know that this is going to land me back in his office.

"Only after we examined the bodies more, did Sakumo notice Reika, who was leaning on a tree, curled up, and watching us. Her chakra was completely hidden, her eyes trailing us. Every time one of us reached for the boys, her killer intent spiked."

Kushina finished with that, as the office fell into silence.

My eyes turned back to the Hokage and watched him get up out of his chair, before emptying his pipe in the ashtray.

Weak.

I always thought that Hiruzen was weak.

A man that tried to help but lacked the balls to actually get what needed to be done, well… Done.

It's weird how your perceptions of people change when you meet them face to face.

He stood in front of me and bent down to my level.

Seeing me not as one of his soldiers, but as a seven-year-old.

Weak?

No.

This man was tired.

Tired of war.

Tiered of having to order people to risk their lives.

Tired of sending children to their deaths.

And the next shinobi war hasn't even started yet.

"Reika-chan." He said, catching my attention again.

"Yes, Hokage-sama," I answered studying his younger face.

"Are you able to report?" he asked.

Does he actually care? I asked myself.

Or is this grandfather attitude an act?

"Yes, Sir," I answered before collecting my thoughts.

I began when Kushina took off with the Iwa nin before retelling our actions, and my reasoning for sending my teammates ahead.

But out of everything, I knew I had to withhold information and dread carefully when I told him about Rokuro.

My word against a councilman.

The man would never listen to a seven-year-old who hasn't even been a genin for a year.

"By listening to Kushina's side of the event, I agree that each one of the ninjas seemed to have something they wanted." I swallowed. "the Iwa ninja wanted the Kyuubi and the Ore scroll, while the Kumo-nin wanted me. But with Ryouta, he wasn't an exception."

I readied myself for my next comment.

"He wasn't even a foreign ninja."

The moment the words tumbled from my lips, the room seemed to darken.

"You shouldn't make that assumption unless you are very sure, Reika." I wasn't surprised that the words came from Minato's lips.

"I know, and I am completely sure." I forced my hands open and then closed again.

"He canceled the henge after Seiichi, Tsubasa, and Maki- the Kumo-ninja- left. His real name is Rokuro, I don't know that last name, he worked in the aviary."

I was unsettled by the way the Hokage's expression didn't change.

"Yes, you were posted there in quite a few instances." He stated. I tried not to be bothered by the way he seemed to know my every move. Of course, he did, he is the one who gives the orders.

But I don't like to be tracked. I don't like people knowing what I do.

"I didn't think twice of it, but he would often invite me to 'join' him," I admitted. "For some reason, he wanted my help. He never really gave me more information than that so I never took him seriously."

Inhale 10.

Hold 20,

Exhale 5.

Tread carefully.

I looked up and caught the Hokage's eye.

"He seemed to be under the orders of another to make war," I stated. "He was apparently sick of the waiting game and wanted to fight. By recruiting the two foreign ninjas, who had to contact with the outside, he gave them information and rewards if they helped him."

Very carefully.

"We fought, and he was beating me, despite the dirty tricks that I was pulling on him." I continued, the adults in the room listening to my every word, and it somewhat scared me that they were taking me so seriously. I was only seven.

It was definitely a different reality to my last life.

"I was trapped and he was taking pleasure in repeatedly hitting me."

My eyes drifted up to my teacher.

"I would have been knocked out and take out of the Fire country if it had not been for the Dark Chakra that immitted from where Sensei was fighting. I guess that is what you meant by losing control."

The red head's eyes widened as I directed the last part to her.

"He locked up, and I was immediately able to get out of his grasp and stab him, killing him."

I looked back at our leader once I saw her eyes start to water.

This was not the time for making people cry.

I finished my story soon after, being clear on how the body blew up after he died by itself, and not because of me. Then I moved onto reporting on how I defeated the Kumo Ninja.

"When I came to, I awoke to chakra signals coming into my perimeter." I blew my bangs that hung in my eyes out of them. "I wasn't going to let anyone else touch my team, but it was Sakumo-Oji-chan and Kushina-Sensei."

The silence, was long and clear as the Hokage contemplated.

"Thank you, Reika-chan," he put a hand on my head. "I'm taking you off duty for a month or two so that you can heal properly."

Heal properly.

I was smart enough to know that meant my body and my mind.

"You did well out there, I am very proud of you." He slid his hand off my head and he got up off the floor to move around his desk. "I am very sorry you had to go through this, Reika-chan."

Collapsing back in his chair, he took out more tobacco and put it in his pipe.

The silence continued as he lit it.

Danzo.

I left enough hints to tell you it was Danzo.

Please, do something!

"Kushina, you will be kept in the village for the time being as well. I'm don't want this to happen again." He ordered. "And make sure you and Reika drop by the hospital to get checked out."

"Yes, Hokage-sama." She replied.

"Minato." He turned to the other man in the room. "Do you have anything to add?"

Minato shook his head.

"Not at the moment."

At the moment.

Meaning something will be said after.

"I'm keeping you home for a bit, take the time to train your apprentice, I'm planning on sticking him in a team with the next set of graduates." He ordered.

Rin, Obito.

It was going to be that year.

"I also want you to keep working on that jutsu I gave you. Kushina, I trust you will be helping him with it."

"I've helped with the theory, but the attempts themselves are up to Minato." She replied.

"I'm on the application right now." The future Hokage smiled. "I should have it down in a month or two."

The Sandaime nodded.

Hirashin.

Could this be the Hirashin?

"I expected no less."

He sighed again, letting out smoke.

We heard the dismissal in his voice and Minato came to me to put me back on his back.

"By the way, Kushina, Reika." The Hokage called as we headed to the door.

"Yes, sir."

"You both have to report to Inoichi once a week," he replied. "I'll have him send over a message telling you a time tomorrow."

I hid my face in Minato's back, to hide the smile that stretched across my face as the door closed behind us.

Because in my fucked up brain…

That door meant something.

The world as I knew it would end and a new period would begin.

The start of a world of pain has begun.

The Third Shinobi War.

Obito meeting Madara.

Rin committing suicide on Kakashi's Chidori.

Minato and Kushina's sacrifice.

And all this has started with Tsubasa and Seiichi's death.

-.-

Hello Everyone!

This chapter is honestly the hardest chapter I have written. it took me a solid week to figure out what type of reaction that Reika should have. How would she react? would she take it badly? take it like she would everything else? I finally sold myself on this, although her grief will be continuing for at least another few chapters.

Question: Do you think I should have portrayed Kushina and Reika's grief in another way? How and why?

Recommended fanfiction: Clearing Mist by **shadownumera.** I blame this on you, **Silverlined Pheonix.** I was curious about fanfictions where the character is matched with Kisame after your last comment and got hooked on this one.

Once again, thank you all for your views, follows, favorites and Encouraging reviews.

Love you all,

RavenMocker6  
P.S: there is probably going to be a delay for the next chapter. I'm leaving for Greece once again this year to participate in an Archeological Dig so as soon as I get settled there i'll be back on and updating.

 **Curleystruggle,** Next time, I'll try and make it more heart pulling to make you cry. I think that is my new goal. Before this story is over, I want to make you cry at least once! I hope you like where I'm hoping to direct the story. As for telling him about Root, what would be the fun in telling the Hokage directly? She gave him enough of a hint, but will he take it? We will see. Chibi-Neji would be so cute! It would be adorable seeing him run around all crazy-like cause Reika is his sister and would bring out the child in him. I love the idea, but we'll see if he is even born.

 **Taylor. Denney2,** Thanks! I take pleasure that I can make you cry! (Does that make me a bully?)

 **Sazaleli** , Awww! And You are on to something. Karma will always be a B... especially when Reika is concerned.

 **Dark Rose Charm** , Reika's friends will become very important to her after, and as you have seen in the previous chapters when Reika is emotional she does one of two things. Pushing people away or clinging to them. I won't spoil anything, but there are going to be some changes, while other things will not change. I won't say any anything else about what the future holds for Reika for now. I don't want to spoil anything.

 **YXZX** , I hope you like her reaction. It was really hard, even for me to figure out what her reaction should be.

 **Love Stories00** , here we go. As you wished, Minato was there when she was hinting at Danzo's involvement. But I don't know if he will really figure it out until much later. I'm evil, I know, my aim was really to get you guys attached just to kill them. Doesn't mean it didn't hurt me to kill them off.

 **Antimoni** , Thank you! Thank you very much!

 **fixerbacta,** well she hinted at it. like she said, it's her word against Danzo's. She has to tread carefully.

 **Sukondis,** I am too. But their deaths will not be in vain. Killing them off has a purpose, don't you worry.

 **GreyMoon. Huntress,** Really? a thing between Reika and Tsubasa? That was totally unintended, but not entirely unwelcome. As for the tornado of bugs, it is something I came up with. I was thinking about what would happen to he bugs since they no longer have a body of chakra to cling to and feed off of. I figured, why not make a dramatic moment out of it. As for Karma's a B... That I know. I can tell you that it is not going to stop either. It's going to follow her for the rest of her life. Thanks for telling me about the corrections, as soon as I have a moment, I'll go back and take a look. You know, I like the way you described her. "The Itachi, before Itachi is born" that characterizes her perfectly. As for a list of possible pairings, I'll make up a list and set it up one of the next few chapters.

 **Xiu,** Sorry it took me so long. Here you are. I know I took three weeks, Sorry!

 **Ironyismyname** , Tsubasa a canon character? I think you might be getting him mixed up with Torune. Tsubasa is an OC. Torune would not have been born yet.

 **Lizyeh2000** , She will have to report to Inoichi's office for sure. We will be seeing her there quite a few times.

 **Pebblepeak** , Welcome to Karma is a B... I'm glad to have your attention and am very happy you like it. Yup, her team's death will affect her greatly, whether it will be for the good or the bad, You'll have to read the next few chapters to find out. Afterward, you can tell me what you think. Like I told **GreyMoon. Huntress** , I will be posting a list within the next few chapters of who I'm debating on pairing her with.

 **Silverlined Pheonix** , They both died because Karma is a Bi... That would have been a bitch move though. suddenly being like "Opps sorry for making you cry but it is a genjutsu. Haha made you look." I'm not saying, cause it could equally be Zabuza, or Roshi, or Darui, or even Nagato himself. So many options. **GreyMoon. Huntress** asked for a list of possible pairings and I will provide in within the next few chapters. Ding ding ding, Minato was at the front, but only for a message, but he escorted her back so it must count for something!

 **Missawsomesauce** , Oh trust me... When Reika finally gets her hands around his neck. He is going to wish he was dead. And it is going to feel so good!

 **Mr. Meowington** , Awww. Sorry! ...or maybe I'm not. I got attached to them too, but I have a lot of the future storyline based on their death so I had to kill them.

 **Way of life** , You know, That is a very good question. It has quite a vague answer. She doesn't tell anyone because she is Reika. she takes the world on her shoulders, and she thinks that she needs to do this alone. When you look into her flashbacks, you can see that those she was close with either betrayed her or were dead, leaving her alone. That feeling has crossed over to Reika. She thinks that if she counts on the other's they will betray her, or end up dying anyway. She doesn't understand that these secrets are what will hurt the others. Just like how they got her friends killed. But on the other hand, you have to understand that Rokuro specifically says that he wants her to join Anbu. What Seven-year-old knows the process to join Anbu? is she randomly goes up to the Hokage, or even Sakumo and says Root- a secret organization- is after her, and threatening her without solid evidence, she will not be treated kindly, and they might even think that she is a spy. Thanks for commenting, I had to really sit down and think about this.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22- Who said Healing was Easy?

War.

What is it good for?

Absolutely nothing.

Say it again…

I snorted in laughter as the song replayed in my head.

"Is something funny, Reika?"

I tuned Inoichi back in and shook my head.

"No Yamanaka-san," I answered.

We sat at his cleared desk. Him behind it but his eyes glued to me. Listening and judging me.

I was in front of him, stalling for time because I didn't want to be there.

It reminded me of all the times I sat in anger management.

"I asked whether you think Tsubasa and Seiichi would hate you?"

I looked back up at the corner of the room, debating how many spiders had made a nest there.

"You are not helping yourself by just ignoring what happened."

My eyes narrowed.

"I'm not ignoring it." I snarled.

He leaned back in his chair and hid his mouth with his hand.

"Then why are you not answering me?"

He almost seemed pleased, like he was getting somewhere.

It pissed me off.

"Because I don't feel like it!"

I closed my eyes and crossed my arms.

Neither of us spoke afterward, trying to wait each other out.

"Are we done?"

He sighed before looking up at the clock

"Yes." He admitted, getting up.

I didn't wait for him before sliding off the chair and limping over to the door.

"Reika-chan!" he called, but I was already out the door.

"Are you done?" Kushina stood just outside, waiting for me.

"Yes."

I didn't have a choice this time around when she bent down and slung me onto her back.

"Thank you Inoichi." She said, turning towards me. "I hope she wasn't any trouble."

He caught my eye and sighed.

"I couldn't tell you even if she was," he said.

As we walked away, I almost felt the need to grin at his trouble. But that would be too childish, even for me.

"How was your appointment?" she asked as we took to the roofs.

I shrugged and trusted that she understood the meaning.

It didn't take long before we reached the apartment she shared with Minato.

I knew he was there before we had even walked through the door.

"Reika?" I was let down off Kushina's back and looked up from the ground to black eyes and a masked face.

"Hi, Kakashi," I said. I slowly moved towards the couch.

His eyes followed me as I sat on it, in pain but alive, and roamed as if he could see the injuries that littered it.

"Are you okay?" he asked. He crawled up next to me, touching his shoulder to mine.

I nodded, ignoring the surge of guilt that welled up within.

"Minato-sensei told me a bit of what happened."

I moved my body so that it was half lying down, my legs still dangling off the couch.

"Did he?" I muttered back.

"Seiichi and Tsubasa are dead." He whispered.

I stayed silent. Listening but not commenting. He grabbed my kimono and held on tight.

"Yeah." I finally answered. "They are."

We didn't speak anymore but sat in silence as we thought back to our friends.

"They aren't coming back." His body leaned against mine, and I felt his head bury itself in my kimono.

"They aren't."

I pretended I didn't see Kushina peek out of her and Minato's room.

My arm curled around him, cuddling him close, giving him access to my body for comfort and warmth. All this, despite not feeling so myself.

I felt cold

So cold.

"And you're still here?"

This boy clung to me a bit more, despite me being physically younger.

"Yeah."

My eyes stared at the ceiling, not really paying any more attention then I had to.

Cold.

And Painful.

"Don't leave." His nails scratched me through my top.

"You are not allowed to die."

I snorted.

"I don't get to chose that," I told him.

I sure as hell didn't choose that Tsubasa and Seiichi would die.

But I chose to save Sakumo. Was it a trade? A life for a life?

Was Karma that much of a Bitch?

"Then promise me that you won't die until after I have!"

I looked over at my best friend, pulling him closer.

He didn't complain, nor did he say anything about the shaking in my limbs.

"I can't," I whispered.

"Yes, you can." He looked up at me, water slipping from his grief-stricken black eyes. "Promise me! Please!"

I shook my head.

We fell silent because not even him really believed it.

Kakashi was intelligent.

Deep down he knew that I couldn't promise that.

-.-

"Are you listening, Reika?"

I glanced back at Inoichi from the clock on the wall.

"No."

-.-

"Rei-chan." Kushina sat a plate of food in front of me and took off her apron. "How was your appointment?"

I kept my eyes on the little pile of pills next to my plate and didn't respond.

I could almost feel her eyes boring into me.

"Reika?" her voice edged on annoyance.

"Kushina," Minato called from next to me.

I didn't have to watch to know the gesture that he made.

"Fine." The spoon clanked on the counter and Kushina blew out of the room.

I squeezed my eyes, trying to keep a lid on the tight red-hot emotions that tried to burst from me.

"You are shutting us out, Reika." Minato's fork dipped into his own plate and I heard him chew. "She's angry because she is scared."

The food looked good, and surprisingly it wasn't Ramen. But the rage had already filled my belly.

The fork hit the plate again.

"She's afraid that she's going to lose you too."

I pushed the chair away and walked, limping slightly, back to my temporary bed, the couch. I curled up on it, folding the blanket onto myself and facing the cushion.

Didn't he know that I know it?

Minato sighed behind me.

Maybe the storyline would be better without me.

I closed my eyes.

"You could have at least took a bite," Minato muttered.

My silence continued.

My presence was like a fungus; will keep bringing trouble until you throw it out.

I should have never been born.

I curled in slightly.

My existence is endangering everyone I've come to care about.

-.-

"Reika?"

-.-

"Obi-Kun and Rin-chan are here, Reika."

"I don't want to see them."

-.-

"Have you spoken to anyone about what happened?"

"The Hokage."

"Is that it?"

I deadpanned.

"Who else am I supposed to tell?"

-.-

"Reika?"

I stopped picking at the scab that covered a cut on my arm and looked up. It would have healed already if I had stopped picking at it... but it was addictive.

"Why aren't you taking your medicine?"

I went back to picking, not wincing as a trail of blood flowed down my arm.

-.-

"Please, talk to me!"

I felt bad, turning my back on Kushina like that.

But I couldn't handle it.

If I started I would lose control.

I can't lose it.

If I did, they would realize just how much of a loose cannon I really was and they would hate me.

That voice spoke in my head, pushing the possibility to the forefront of my mind.

They probably already do.

Hate me that is.

-.-

"I know I've told you this before Reika, but I have permission from the Hokage to know everything."

He sat on my side of his desk, trying a different approach to be on the same level as me.

"I'm trying to help you!"

"Then leave me alone!" I hissed. "You're prying is only bothering me further."

His face changed from caring to genuinely shocked.

"I can handle this myself!"

-.-

"It's been two weeks, Reika." Minato sat on the couch next to me as I looked through a book.

I wasn't really reading, just looking at the words, hoping that they would all go away.

Why can't they see that they can't 'help' me?

This is something I have to do alone.

"Inoichi has not told us everything, but he is saying that the road you are going on is very dangerous." I flipped a page.

Inoichi needs his mouth sewn shut.

"Tsubasa and Seiichi's funeral is in three days, and you need to start talking." He fell silent right after, realizing that I wasn't listening.

Whatever happened to the person who gasped openly at just the sight of him. Would that girl have hugged him and cried her eyes out in his arms? Or in Kushina or Kakashi's?

"You are refusing to see your friends." He continued soon after.

"Rin and Gai have been by every two days, while Kakashi and Obito have every day." He took the book from my hands. "you need to let them in. They are your friends!"

I snorted in laughter.

"Is this because you think that we are next?" he asked. He was upfront and calm despite my attempt at being a piece of shit. "Are you pushing us away because you think that we are going to be the one to die next?"

My eyes drifted from the book in his hands to his displeased face.

"Can I have my book back?"

-.-

My pity party went on for the next day as well. That is, until the night before the funeral.

Can you guess?

Who was the one that made me break?

Was it my teacher?

My best friend?

The only female of my age group that cared about me?

My idol?

Uncle?

Parent?

But why? Or rather how? How did I break?

That's a stupid question… I know.

I reacted how I usually do.

…

"What did you say?"

Inoichi signed off a paper and closed my file in front of me.

"I've been tasked to tell you that the remainder of your team will be split up." His eyes watched my face, taking in the emotions that surely flew across it.

"You have been removed from under Kushina's tutelage and will be placed back into the Genin Corps."

"Why!" I stood up, standing on the tips of my toes, pushing my self up to his desk.

"Kushina will be reassigned to the barrier corps where her Skills with Fuinjutsu will be put to use and her Jinchuriki status will be protected within our walls." He continued. And I unknowingly was playing straight into his hands.

"And you are too unstable to be placed on another team."

"Fuck you!" I hissed. "You know nothing!"

He opened his mouth to speak once more, but I cut him off.

"You can't take another one from me! No one else will be taken from me!" I snarled at him.

His eyes went from serious to cold in a few seconds.

"I can't but the Hokage put your mental health in my hands. And if I say that you can't handle field work anymore, then it goes as saying." He leaned forward, looking almost snug. "Therefore I just did take her from you."

I didn't realize what I had done until the chair I had previously sat on was sent flying and I was halfway down the hall, seeing only red.

I ran, not caring for my injuries. Not caring about the exhaustion that seeped into me.

My chakra was pulled in tight, as my anger boiled within me, my vision red.

I didn't know how or when but eventually my foot caught on a root and I tripped, landing on my face.

The forest.

I'm in a forest.

I snarled at the ground and pushed myself onto my shaky legs, stomping my way through the forest.

Who the fuck did he think he was?

I just lost half my team and he wants to take another from me!

No.

No!

Goosebumps chilled the skin on my arms and the hairs stood on the back of my neck as I heard the shriek of a banshee.

Banshee?

I slammed my hands into the closest tree.

No.

My nails carved their way into the bark as much as they could, the bark entering beneath my nails.

Giving me splinters.

That was me.

I screeched once again, falling onto my knees, beating the tree once again.

I didn't want to return to the Genin Corps.

I swallowed the lump in my throat.

It wasn't the lump of sadness or grief one would expect.

It was a lump full of fear.

Fear of two things.

My breathing quickened.

If I'm not near her, I won't be able to protect her if someone starts to target her again. Her status of Jinjuriki was almost discovered, and who knows, it could still be threatened. Maki or the Iwa ninja could have gotten word to someone before and now the other elemental nations know.

I was terrified that I would not be able to protect her.

 _"_ _We aren't weak, Reika," Tsubasa said._

 _I looked away from the rag and into his face, gauging his expression._

 _"_ _I know that…"_

 _"_ _You don't," he said. "You act like we are the ones needing protection when you are are the youngest of us by three years!"_

Tsubasa.

 _"_ _We are not angry that you were distracted," Seiichi bumped my shoulder with his own._

 _"_ _We are angry that you think that we are so weak that we need protecting from simple bandits."_

 _"_ _I get it Reika. You care and don't want us hurt." He said. "We love you too, but you have to be able to count on us. We are a team, we need to work together rather than have one person always protecting the others."_

Seiichi.

They said that, but when I did trust them…

They died.

Angry tears ran hot down my face and I gritted my teeth.

Who is next?

If Kushina is now taken from me, who is next?

Gai? Rin? Kakashi? Obito?

Minato? My mother?

Was saving Sakumo going to be in vain?

Will this cursed world feel fit to kill off my father this time around as well, banishing the idea of Neji ever being born?

My body shook.

Fear and anger overflowing my body like the lava of an active volcano.

And when I'm alone. When I'm not on a team, not as an apprentice, but in the Genin Corps…

What happens now?

I hit the ground with my fist.

Will Danzo win?

Will he get me?

No one will notice if a random unplaced Genin will go missing.

Without a team, I wouldn't be surprised if he is already going to my clan head…My grandfather… and asking for a tribute.

And with the way I'm treated, I would not be surprised if they throw me willingly to the wolves. If only to watch me suffer.

A laugh bubbled out of me without my permission and I laid on the ground, finally letting the emotions dissipate from within my body.

Keep them in only stalled it.

I rolled onto my back and threw my arm over my eyes and shakily breathed out.

My presence here only fucks things up.

Actually, I'm fucked up.

I couldn't help the sad grin that stretched across my lips. My eyes took in the forest and noticed the moon.

I will not be able to change anything.

Rin, Kushina, Minato will be killed.

Obito and Kakashi will suffer for so long, alone and will fall into the darkness without aid. Just as I had.

My mother, Father, and Sakumo will eventually die as well.

The next generation will be filled with pain once again. It will be placed upon the shoulders of a child on the day he is born.

On Naruto.

The moon was only a quarter, but still beautiful.

I blinked in surprise.

My appointment had been right before supper.

I had been here for hours.

I snorted.

I doubt that I'll be looked for.

My presence is irrelevant. I shouldn't exist.

A branch cracked nearby and I didn't move.

Light steps

It's an animal.

A fox?

The body stopped beside me, and I was surprised at the rustling of clothes.

"Why do you always go to the forest?"

My arm twitched.

I was not expecting that.

Sliding my arm off my face, I glanced over at the blue-clothed boy, his grey goggles placed over his eyes.

My own eyes picked up the sweat rolling down not only his cheeks but down his neck as well.

"Is it because it is quiet?" he hummed and stretched out his legs looking up at the sky.

He was breathing hard.

"Ah!" he pointed up at the moon. "Or maybe it's because the moon is so pretty."

Was he looking for me all this time?

Who told him I was missing?

His eyes looked down at me and his expression turned solemn.

"I remember the first time we met," his grin went into a soft smile. "Rin had to patch up your hands."

Weight shifting, he pulled his legs under him.

"You had told us that you came out so that you wouldn't hurt someone." His eyes watered. "So does this mean that everytime you come to the forest, it is to protect people from yourself?"

I swallowed.

Obito.

Was he always this perceptive?

"You probably want to know why I'm here." He scratched his cheek.

"Well, I was training with Rin, trying to convince her to go on a date with me and Kushina flew out from the forest like a gust of wind." He couldn't help the smirk that threatened to appear when he made the sound effects.

"She started to yell at us about finding you, that you had taken off from your appointment at supper and she had been looking for you for four hours, with no luck." He waved his hands around, using them to tell the story.

"Before I knew it, Rin and Kushina were gone and I was left with the other adult she was with. We separated soon after, taking the eastern part of Kohona."

I scoffed and looked away.

Obito and I sat In silence, listening to the world around us.

"You and the others should not be around me." I finally muttered.

Why did I speak?

What is it about Obito that made me spill?

"Huh?" the black haired boy looked at me clearly puzzled. "What gives you that impression?"

"If you stay close to me you will all die," I muttered, sliding my eyes closed.

Obito scoffed.

"As if!" he growled. "We are training to be Ninja, Rei. We can defend ourselves."

I chuckled.

"That is what Tsubasa and Seiichi said." I opened my eyes again and held his. "Look at them now. Tomorrow, they will be buried six feet under, with only their name on a piece of rock to remember them by."

"That doesn't mean it is your fault!" Obito cried.

I sat up fast baring my teeth at him.

"One of the ninja wanted to kidnap me, the same ninja that killed them." I hissed. "My Kekkei Genkai, as well as myself, is a threat to all of you!"

My fists tightened in the dirt.

"You would all be better off if I was dead!"

Never in a million years would I have thought that he would have done that.

I blinked in surprise, my head snapped to the side.

"Don't you dare say that!" Obito hissed. "You are not allowed to say that!"

My hand raised itself to my cheek touching the tender spot where Obito had punched me.

"You are not allowed to die!" he sniffed, tears spilling into the bottom of the goggles, he lifted them and rubbed his eyes with his sleeve.

"No one is strong enough to truly chose when they are going to die, it just happens." I managed to whisper. "At least without me around, you have one last thing to worry about."

"Then become strong enough!"

His eyes seemed to stare right into me. Seeing through me, trusting me. Eyes full of confidence, and strangely full of resolve, despite the tears.

"You have to become strong enough so that you get to choose in the way you die."

I opened my mouth but he cut me off again.

"We all should!" he said again. "We all have to become that strong so that we don't lose to anyone ever again!"

I scrunched up my face, trying not to cry.

"And we have to protect each other. To do that, we have to work together to better each other. By making the others better, we are ensuring that they can protect themselves, so we don't have to always worry about them."

"It can't be that simple."

"Of course it is!" Obito jumped up and pointed at me. "You just have to believe it!"

I snorted and shook my head.

But what if he is right?

What if it is that simple?

"We will be the strongest generation!" He pointed up at himself. "And I will lead it as the Hokage!"

I couldn't help but smirk as he slipped into his dream once again.

Sure, Sunshine.

"So don't give up on us. Rin, Gai and I may not be at your and Kakashi's level right now… but we will be soon." His hand extended towards me. "I was thinking about what happened to Sakumo. I couldn't help but think about why other people think that he did so bad, and I don't understand it. So I've decided to make my own law. A law I will enforce when I am Hokage!"

He paused, looking at me in the eye.

"If those that break the rules are trash, then those who abandon their friends are worst then trash."

The eyes of the nine-year-old boy caught mine.

"Are you worse than trash?"

I blinked as his resolve crumbled my own.

I knew what he was saying. Will you abandon your friends?

Will you abandon us?

Those words are powerful, I tell you.

Powerful.

I got up slowly, facing him, my face a mix between amazed and shocked.

Was I trying to do that?

Was I trying to abandon them?

Leaving them behind to deal with life themselves, when I hold so much knowledge that could help them?

And never in a thousand hells did I ever think that I was the first person he would say that too.

My hand slapped his, and I let his will influence me.

It's going to take a while. And the change will not be immediate.

"Then we have a long way to go," I told him. He was a good few inches taller than me so I had to look up at him. "To become the best generation."

I was never one for plans.

But his words…

They made sense in a way.

The lump settled in my stomach, twisting it, filling my insides with anxiety.

"But we will get there." He said, his eyes full of confidence. "I have no doubt."

 _"Why do you have so much confidence in me!" I screamed at her._

 _The brown-haired girl put her hands on her hips and cocked her hip out. Her long sleeves covering her scars._

 _"_ _Because you don't have confidence in yourself." She answered. "…"_

"I don't believe in myself to be able to pull that off."

Obito blinked looking at me in shock.

"But I Believe in you, and in Rin and Kakashi, and Gai and Sensei, and everyone else."

My fists curled into themselves.

"So I will believe in what you say until it is proven wrong."

So don't let it.

Obito understood, despite being so young.

He grinned and grabbed my hand.

"Everyone is waiting, let's go!" he pulled me back through the forest.

I blinked, allowing myself to be dragged away.

Is this okay?

We breached the forest and we came to a stop.

"Reika!"

I looked over and paled.

Kushina was running at me, her crimson hair flowing out from behind her, an angry expression on her face.

She was going to hit me.

I squeezed my eyes tight, bracing myself for the hit …

That never came.

Arms wrapped around me and squeezed me tight.

"Never!" she cried. "Don't you ever do that to me again."

My body was frozen as she held me tight, her arms shaking.

I'm an idiot.

She was probably suffering too.

"I'm sorry," I whispered in her ear.

She tightened her grip before pulling me away.

Her purple eyes were watery with unwept tears.

My eyes caught another movement only to see another small fist wail towards me.

I could have dodged it.

Why didn't I?

Cause I deserved.

"You brat!" she cried.

Never let anyone tell you that Rin was weak.

I winced, landing on my butt.

"Rin-chan!" Obito's voice shook and he ran around me to create a barrier.

"It's fine, Obi."

I got up, dusting myself off.

"I deserved it," I said.

Rin's hands shook, and tears spilled from her eyes again. For a second, I thought she was going for a second hit, but instead, she threw her whole body.

"We have been looking for you forever!" she sobbed.

So much for not having snot on my clothes.

"Sorry," I muttered.

"I expect lots of sleepovers as compensation." She cried, sniffling on my shirt. "And no shutting us out anymore!"

She pulled back and rubbed her eyes.

"If you shut us out, we can't help you!"

She hickuped and she bit her lip, trying to stop her crying.

"And if we can't help you, we will lose you!"

Guilt ate away at my stomach. It's combination with the anxiety making me nauseous.

While trying to make sure they would be protected from me, I made them feel as if they were losing me.

I had forgotten that they too, had lost Tsubasa and Seiichi. They lost two of their friends.

A fist came down on my head and I winced.

"Inoichi didn't tell me much, only that you threw a chair at him then stormed off." She said, her worry replaced with furry. "Care to explain?"

My eye twitched and I looked away from her.

"I don't know what you are talking about," I muttered.

The fist gripped my head a bit harder, turning my head towards her annoyed face.

"Reika!" she growled.

Steps interrupted us, and out of all of the people it could be, I wasn't expecting this one either.

"Yes, Reika…"

My head whipped around so fast that Kushina's hand was forced off.

He wasn't injured.

"I would very much like to know why you threw a chair at Yamanaka-san…" his white eyes stared into mine, a serious expression on his face. "My Daughter."

"Tou-san?"

My body moved without me noticing.

I grasped what I could and hung onto his hip, making him stumble back.

"Okari!" I clung to him.

Silence hung in the air, but soon enough he was able to pry me off him.

He bent down to my level, looking at me in the eyes, not commenting on the watery effect that was sure to be there.

"Taidamia." He whispered, giving me a proper hug.

I heard a laugh behind me, and I separated from my father to look.

Rin was laughing, clearly happy that my father was back. Or maybe she was laughing at Obito.

He sniffled, rubbing his eyes.

"I'm not crying!" he piped up.

Yup, she was laughing at him.

"Sure, short-stuff," Kushina said, crossing her arms.

"Thank you two for helping to find my daughter." Hizashi placed a hand on my head.

"Thanks," I muttered, now realizing that I was going to get a big talking to.

"She's our friend, of course, we will try to help!" Rin said she froze soon after.

"Wait, Aren't Minato-san and Kakashi-kun still looking?"

Obito and KUshina looked at each other.

"Probably." The redhead laughed, scratching her head.

"Come on, Obi!" She took his hand and walked away, leading him towards the south of the city.

"Ah!" he stumbled before waving bye to us.

"Remember what I said, Reika!" he cried before they ran off.

I nodded, waving bye.

There was no way I was not going to. He Obi-no-jutsued me.

I was left with only the two adults.

"Care to explain, Reika?" my father crossed his arms, and I couldn't help but notice how he was still in his ninja gear. His bag was still slung over his back.

He had just got home.

I looked to the side.

I really didn't want to tell him. The fear that he would be disappointed in me increased, forcing my mouth shut.

"Did Inoichi try and push you to speak?" Kushina bent over, looking straight at me as well.

I shrugged but got a shot to the head again.

"Don't start with clamming up again, Reika!"

"Again?" my father asked, his eyes narrowing.

"We had a… mishap on our last mission." Kushina said, struggling to define the mission.

I snorted mockingly.

"We lost the boys."

Hizashi froze for a second, before schooling his features.

"My condolences." His voice was even, but I could notice the sadness in his demeanor. The way his eyes softened ever so slightly. The slight jump in his hands. And the tight hold he gripped my shoulder with.

"So that is why Reika has been visiting Inoichi, it's been two weeks and she hasn't been speaking. To anyone." Kushina said.

"I'm right here." I snapped.

I flinched at the look my father gave me.

"Thank you for taking care of her, Kushina." He said, bowing respectfully. "I can't imagine it being easy."

She shrugged her shoulders.

"But I'm more interested in what Inoichi said." she crossed her arms and looked at me. "I've never seen you blow up like that. So whatever it was, it is important, at least to you."

I sighed, realizing that I wasn't going to win.

"He told me that you were being reassigned, and I was going back into the Genin Corps."

I crossed my arms, closing up myself. My stomach turned for the millionth time full of fear.

Kushina blinked.

"He told you that?" she asked.

Her hand met her face and she sighed.

"What an idiot."

"I second that." My father answered. "He obviously wanted a reaction from you, to see where you were in the grieving process. If you weren't responding to anyone, it is hard to judge the person."

I gritted my teeth.

"Is it true?"

Kushina looked away.

"Yes. We are both being reassigned since I'm not allowed to take you as an apprentice."

My father tensed, but I ignored him.

"He told me he was going to put me off the active roster too." I growled. "he thinks that I'm too unstable to do D-ranks."

"Now that is bullshit." My teacher, or rather ex-teacher, bit.

My father nodded in agreement.

"Only the Hokage can decide that, and with the war, there is no way he is going to let an active body go to waste. We need all the funds we can get."

The knot loosened and I was able to breathe normally.

"You still have to apologize for throwing that chair at him." my father scolded.

I turned away and rolled my eyes.

"Don't roll your eyes, young lady." He pushed my head forward, in the general direction of my house. "Let's go home, you have a big day tomorrow." I groaned but did as asked.

"Thank you again, Kushina." He smiled and the red-headed gave a large smile and waved us off.

We walked the familiar route to the compound, talking about light-hearted things, about what techniques I've learned and other little things like what I ate these past few days.

He told me about how he was at the Iwa border until the reinforcements sent him home.

"The Hokage requested that I come home right away." He said as we reached the house. He unlocked it and we settled inside.

"Taidaima." We chorused before taking off our shoes, he shooed me off to change while he made tea.

When I came back he was sitting on the porch with the tea brewing. In his other hand, he held a brush.

"Why a brush?" I asked confused.

He smiled softly and patted the space in front of him.

Automatically I did as beckoned and turned my back.

His strokes were soft.

"I graduated when I was ten years old. I was overconfident in my skills and so when our C-rank went wrong, my teammates took the brunt of the pain. Arata is in a wheelchair and doesn't want to speak with me, while Zushi and our sensei would never be able to speak again."

Sitting there, I realized that he was brushing my hair so that I couldn't run. He knew me well. He knew that if we had this one on one, with no distraction, I would have run already.

I was trapped here until he was done.

"It was all my fault." His strokes didn't tremble, nor did he hesitate. Like he had already come to terms with it. "At least that is what I thought.

"Arata was actually angry with me cause I blamed myself. That I retreated into myself and pushed him out when both of us had lost our teammate and teacher. That while he was the one that would never walk again, he was worried about me." I could almost hear the smile in his voice. "I saw him a few years back and I was finally able to apologize."

My father chuckled.

"He may be in a wheelchair, but he still has a powerful right hook. He hit me right in the back of the head for apologizing when it wasn't my fault." I blinked in surprise. "Instead, the reason why he ignored me so mostly because he thought it had been his fault due to him trying to hold me back, causing the other two to be swept up in the fight and killed."

He paused, brushing my hair out of my eyes and divided it.

I kept my head down, looking at the grains of wood on the porch.

Was I listening? If I wasn't trying to, I was failing.

My father always had a way to make me listen to him. Is it because he reminded me of my past father? Or is it because his presence commanded respect.

"The guilt of losing your teammates is tough to beat. But I know you can do it." his fingers twisted in my hair. "I will be here if you want to talk, or if you just want someone to be around."

I heard the tying of an elastic and he let go of my hair.

"But do remember the moral of my mistake. It wasn't my actions at the moment. It was lacking to the courage to seek help from those who can give it. Your friends."

I lifted my hand and touched the perfect braid that fell behind me.

"Learn from this experience and grow." He reached for the tea and poured us both a cup. "I pray that you will never have to go through it again. but know that even if you blame yourself, it doesn't mean that the others do. You are always harder on you then what you really deserve. You strive for perfection, but as we are only human we cannot be."

He paused.

"But I find that the closest you can come to perfection is when you surround yourself with important friends. Friends that have your back and a firm hand to smack you back on your path when you stray."

He took a sip, while I decided to just stare at the liquid.

Pretending that the ripples coming from the center were not caused by the drops that rolled down my cheeks.

"Drink the tea, my little genius, then go to bed." He instructed. "You have a big day tomorrow."

Later that night, I stayed up late, thinking about what my father said. What Obito said

My arms would find itself curled around my stuffed owl as memories played in my head.

 _"_ _Don't give up on us."_

 _A hand eventually landed on my head and rubbed it. Looking up, Tsubasa smirked before walking away._

 _"_ _Ha Ha!" Seiichi laughed pointing at my long static hair. "It looks like someone rubbed a balloon on your head!"_

 _"_ _Are you worse than Trash?"_

 _"_ _Then promise me that you won't die until after I have!"_

My friends. I love them so much.

I hugged the owl closer and closed my eyes.

I didn't complain then next morning when I was crushed in my small bed with four small children surrounding me, and a big bulldog crying at the edge of the bed, wanting to be let on, but having no space to go.

He wanted to be part of this dog pile.

This pack we had formed.

A Pack that lost two, but would soon expand to bring in more.

To become the best generation.

-.-

The funeral was a single small thing. Both sides, grieving for the boys. Family in front.

"Ichi?" a little-blue-haired girl pulled on her mother's sleeve asked. Her other hand pointed to Seiichi's photo on his coffin.

That almost made me walk out, but Kushina's shadow behind me, and Kakashi, and Rin beside me made me stay my ground. Gai stood to Rin another side, bawling his eyes out.

Late as always, Obito showed up 15 minutes in and took his spot beside Kakashi.

My eyes couldn't move off the photos of my teammates as the Hokage spoke about the first casualties of the war.

He spoke of the ambush, how they fought valiantly.

I almost snorted in amusement.

Valiantly my ass. It was a slaughter.

The bloody neck of Seiichi and Tsubasa's moving lips flickered in my mind.

Out of the seven of us, my father, Kakashi and I were the only ones with dry eyes.

Well, dryer than the others. Kushina, Obito, and Rin openly wept, trying to calm themselves but not succeeding.

Gai wasn't even trying to calm himself, while on the other hand, Kakashi's eyes were misty, and he kept pulling up his mask.

Pulling up his mask, to cover up the tears in his eyes more like.

My eyes were dry, funerals never really did anything for me.

I crossed my arms and shifted my weight.

I just wanted it to end.

My fingers drummed on my arm as I looked on.

Openly weeping.

I shifted on my feet once again.

That was never something I was good at.

A hand rested on my shoulder and I couldn't help but follow it up.

My eyes caught those of my father and he took a semi-exaggerated breath.

I swallowed the restlessness and took the breath he urged me to.

I hate funerals.

The ceremony lasted for only an hour before the boys were transported to the cemetery where they would be buried.

Only the family were supposed to go.

"Let's go give our respects." Hizashi pushed me forward and my heart lurched in my throat.

We got in line, losing Kushina and my friends in the crowd.

I opened my mouth to protest but the line moved fast and before I knew it, I was standing in front of Seiichi's mother, his little sister kneeling next to her, his father on the other side.

"My condolences, Kawasu-san." My father knelt in front of them, bowing low.

I copied him, not saying a word.

"You must be Reika." The man who spoke looked exactly how I would have imagined Seiichi would have when he was older. Mid-size, lanky body, and bright blue eyes. His hair was the only difference at a blue.

I didn't say anything, for the first few seconds, before my father called my name.

"Yes, Sir," I replied. "I'm sorry for your loss."

Seiichi's mother started to weep once more.

"Why weren't you all together?" she bit.

I squeezed my eyes shut. I was expecting the accusation.

"Ayaka." The man's voice rose, and the woman fell silent her brown- reddish hair hiding her face.

"I'm sorry," I told them. "I was fighting my own enemy, they had the better chance for escape and defense."

The little girl also had blue eyes, but what struck me was that she had the exact same purple hair. Same shade. Just like a blueberry.

"Where is Ichi-nii?" she asked, clinging to her mother's pant leg.

That cut deep.

I swallowed the guilt.

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fight." The man sighed. "We didn't want him to be a shinobi because of this. But we didn't push him hard enough."

His hand touched his daughter's head.

"We won't be making the same mistake with her." he bowed his head. "Thank you for making his life happier, even for the year that you spent together."

We bowed back and left.

Seiichi.

Would he have been alive if he would have listened to his parents?

Probably.

I glanced back to the face of the little girl. She was so confused.

That little girl will never have to worry about dying in battle.

She will be a Civilian, That is for sure.

We paid our respects to Tsubasa's mother next, his father still at the border.

It was quick, simple condolences and a thank you before we left.

Silence took us as we started back to the compound, clothed in black for the morning, both lost in thought.

We were interrupted by the loud screech of a hawk, calling for a meeting.

"I have to go." My father said turning towards me. He patted my head and left to be on his way to the Hokage's office.

Typical.

I sighed, really not feeling like being alone, in my house.

A house which Seiichi would often break into.

There was something I had to do before I could return.

Something that Obito made me realize.

My feet took me to the forest. It stepped over roots, already knowing the way to where I needed to be.

I had been curious about it before, so I went to take a look.

I could imagine it now.

The forest around that stone was far enough that it created a certain atmosphere.

What of?

Distance?

Awareness?

Otherworldliness?

Loneliness?

Sadness?

Bravery?

I watched from the treeline as a man walked away, his tools clinging in his bag.

I had never noticed in the anime that there were vertical lines that spread out from it.

It heightened the awareness of it. That within this space, there is something different happening.

That only certain people had the right to be here.

To have their names written on it. It meant that there was something different about them.

I snorted as I stepped up to the stone.

My eyes refused to look up. Their attention on the little chippings that had not been picked up by the man.

It was done.

Did this mean that it was more official?

Would I stop thinking about how they were probably hiding somewhere around me, about to jump out and tell me how they freaked me out?

That I better appreciate them a bit more?

I couldn't help the sad smile that played at my lips.

That's wishful thinking.

The stone was far enough away from the forest that the sounds that came from it were dimmed.

Once again.

Silence.

Like the silence of death.

My body lowered itself, and I sat there, in front of it.

"Would you forgive me if I told you that I have been lying to you since I met you?" I whispered to the stone. "That everything that you know is wrong? That you know nothing about me?"

Why am I finding this so funny?

"As if you are even listening!" I chuckled. "You are probably either meeting with that Bitch, or in purgatory, awaiting your next life."

I stopped playing with my sleeve.

"Or maybe per odd chance, you have no regrets, that you can accept this." I swallowed. "Did you move on to a place I doubt I will ever go."

"I'm sorry for failing you," I told them. "Seiichi, Tsubasa."

I raised my hands to my eyes, pushing on the burning organs.

"I'm sorry, I can't morn for you any longer."

I let them fall.

My hands?

Or the tears?

Which one do you think?

"I have other people to protect."

My mind wandered for a second.

Back to the dream, I had the night before.

 _"_ _What do you mean I don't belong there anymore."_

 _The brown-haired woman giggled, bringing up a bandaged arm up to her mouth._

 _"_ _You are Reika. Not Shelby."_

 _You've grown and changed. That's what she meant._

 _"_ _Does it mean that we are no more?" I asked her._

 _She shook her head._

 _"_ _I'm dead, but I belong to the other world."_

 _You're alive and belong to this world._

 _I assumed the worse._

 _"_ _You're leaving me!" I accused._

 _She shook her head. This is our little world. If you need me, you know where to find me. I'll talk to you if you need to ground yourself, but you must let me go._

 _I looked down._

 _"_ _Shelby adjusted well to her surroundings, but when it came to people leaving her, she panicked and carried the burden as if it was her fault. That somehow them dying was just to spite her."_

 _She spun, her white dress flowing out and she stood once again on the edge of the building. Her feet touched the concrete divider each time, never missing even if it was so thin._

 _"_ _As Reika, you have to change that."_

 _She hummed out a random tune, just like when she was alive._

 _Because we are not the same person._

 _The meaning when unspoken._

 _I trailed my eyes away from her and looked out to the sunset._

 _This place, so far above the clouds, the dusk of day, on such a modern building. Was this my inner world? Like what the sewer was to Naruto._

 _"_ _Can you do me a favor." She asked, almost shyly,_

 _"_ _What?"_

 _My eyes turned back to her face._

 _"_ _When you are in the outside world. Sing a few songs now and again. Remember what I loved. Will you?"_

 _She grinned._

 _"_ _This way it will be easier. So that instead of thinking of something bad, and how everything bad is your fault, You will think of something I love, and remember me when I was alive and happy."_

My mouth opened and my voice whispered out words.

Words of a song, she loved so much.

"Said goodbye, turned around

And you were gone, gone, gone

Faded into the setting sun,

Slipped away

But I won't cry

'Cause I know I'll never be lonely

For you are the stars to me,

You are the light I follow."

My voice wasn't pretty, nor did I have the training that she did.

But I didn't let it stop me from doing what she asked of me.

"I can hear those echoes in the wind at night

Calling me back in time

Back to you

In a place far away

Where the water meets the sky

The thought of it makes me smile

You are my tomorrow"

I won't lie. The water that dripped onto my hands were from my eyes.

I don't like goodbyes.

Maybe that is why I never really say hello.

Cause If I don't say hello, then I can't say Goodbye.

"Sometimes I feel my heart is breaking

But I stay strong and I hold on 'cause I know

I will see you again,

This is not where it ends

I will carry you with me"

I took a deep breath. letting the words hiccup out form my throat.

"I will see you again.

This is not where it ends

I will carry you with me.

'Till I see you again"

I swallowed, not being able to continue with the lump in my throat.

I raised my hand to wipe at my nose.

I may never see them again, and I think that will be okay.

Or at least I tried to convince myself that.

Cause from this day forward, I will "carry them with me."

From now on, I will make sure I will never have to go through that pain again.

That the next time, I will help my friends protect themselves, by bettering them, and by bettering myself.

"That is a pretty song."

I jumped, whipping my face to the side.

I hadn't heard anyone come.

I almost snorted in irony. They are ninja, of course, you didn't hear them.

It took me a while to recognize who he was.

The pale coat and spiky brown hair weren't enough of a hint.

"Why? Because it sounds sad."

Why?

Why is Aburame Shibi here?

I watched him close the distance between us, standing beside me and looking directly at the names written on the stone.

"I would like to ask which language that was, but I doubt you would tell me," he said. "Why? Because you don't trust me."

That manner of speaking.

It seemed like a needle had pierced my heart.

"I saw you speaking with my mother and recognized you."

I narrow my eyes.

"Your mother?" I asked, confused.

The only Aburame I had spoken to was Tsubasa's mother.

"My brother was a kind person."

I blinked in surprise.

"Tsubasa was your brother?" I asked, surprised. "He never told us he had a brother!"

He nodded.

"I've been on a long-term mission for the past few months, and my brother and I never really got along very well." He admitted.

I looked back at the stone, suddenly finding the courage to find their names.

Seiichi Kawasu.

Tsubasa Aburame.

"But the one thing we always had a pleasant discussion on, was his teammates."

His hands disappeared in his sleeves, clasping his forearms in his own.

"I just wanted to take the time to thank you for being my brother's friend." He said. "That is all."

He disappeared as fast as he had appeared, his body turning into bugs.

A bug clone.

I stood standing there for a moment. Before looking back at the stone.

"Seiichi, Tsubasa." I squeezed my hand, cutting my nails into my palm and lifted it to the stone.

"I promise you that I will save them. Obi, Rin, Kakashi, Minato, and Sensei. I will get powerful enough to save them. And I'll make you proud."

A drop of blood landed in front of the stone sealing the deal.

There is no way I can break that promise now.

I promised the dead.

So they will survive.

-.-

I'm back!

Sorry for the delay! When I got to Greece there was some difficulty with finding Wi-fi. The Wi-fi I had taken too long to upload things so I wasn't able to give you guys a chapter. Now that I'm back, and settled I should be able to resume my rough schedule of every two-three week updates.

This chapter was also a hard one to write. I had trouble trying to find an acceptable response to the events for her. What reaction someone like her would have in this instance.

Question: How long do you think it will take for Danzo to move?

Recommendation: Second Time's the Charm, by **Reader06**. I have been reading this fanfiction since it came out in 2016 and it quickly became a favorite. Tobirama reincarnated in the main storyline as Shikamaru's younger twin sister. It's definitely an interesting take on the world and surprisingly addictive.

So thank **GreyMoon. Huntress**. They had asked me to provide a list for possible pairings. As I stated in my reply to other reviewers as well, I have two possible pairings in mind, one in the village and one out of the village. These are not set in stone, therefore I will not tell them to you guys yet until it affects the storyline (aka, chapter 35-45ish?) So the list I am providing are just people that are in somewhat in her age group.

Inside the Village:

Anko, Oct 24, Same Age  
Aoba- Sep 3, 3 Years Older.  
Asuma, Oct 18, 1 Year Older  
Gai, Jan 1st, Same Age  
Genma, July 17, 2 Years Older  
Ibiki, March 20th, Same Age  
Iruka, May 26th, 4 Years Younger.  
Izumo, Nov 25th, 2 Years Younger  
Kakashi, Sept 15th, 2 months Older  
Kotetsu, Jul 21st, 2 Years Younger  
Kurenai, June 11th, 1 Year Older.  
Obito, Feb 10th, Almost 2 Year Older  
Raido, Aug 28th, 4 Years Older  
Rin, Nov 15th, 1 Year Older  
Shizune, Nov 18th, 2 Years Older  
Shusui- Oct 19th, 5 Years Younger  
Yamato-Tenzo, Aug 10th, 5 Years Younger

Outside the Village:

B, May 15th, 5 Years Older  
Darui, Jan 6th, 3 Years Younger  
Han, May 10th, 5 Years Older  
Hidan, Apr 2nd, 6 Years Younger  
Kisame, Mar 18th, 3 Years Older  
Konan, Feb 20th, 6 Years Older  
Mangetsu, Feb 15, 2 Years Younger  
Mei, May 21st, 2 Years Older  
Nagato, Sep 19th, 6 Years Older  
Samui, Jan 7th, 1 Year Older  
Yagura, Apr 3rd, 4 Years Older  
Yahiko, Feb 20, 6 Years Older  
Yura, Oct 31st, 1 Year Younger  
Zabuza, Aug 15th, Same Age

Thank you for all your patience, views, favorites, follows and reviews,  
RavenMocker6  
P.S, the Song is Carrie Underwood's See You Again.

 **ManawaSasa,** You got that right.

 **Dark Rose Charm** , I think this is the smallest review you have ever wrote to me! I agree Kakashi is definitely going to stick with her. But Kakashi will not be going through a lot of what he did in canon a lot of it happened because he lost his father so horrifically, while in this timeline, he still has his dad.

 **SuperKitty4789,** Thank you very much! I'm glad you liked it.

 **TheOne320,** We will see about Root. I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise, but I'm sure you can figure out what is going to happen just by looking at Reika's personality. but don't worry about Dazo getting what he deserves. He will eventually get that and more. Thank you!

 **way of life,** I understand your point of view, but I disagree. As a 7-year-old, she should not be able to piece these things together. There is also the note that the organization is secret. As a seven-year-old, would not be able to be trusted with that information. Reika also has to keep in mind that she is under servalience for acting more like an adult than a kid, as they think she is desensitized. The last thing she needs is for them to think she is a psychopath or something and mindwalk her.

 **GFofGaraa,** Thank you! I had lots of fun! I was actually debating on whether or not I should have made her clingy, but I doubt it would have flown with Reika. When she is grieving, Reika is very let me be, or hug me tight. but you can never guess which time will be which.

 **curlystruggle,** Can I count on this being a success for your crying? I say Neiji might not be born because I haven't decided yet. I have plans in motion that may or may not count on Neji's existence. Reika will have to grow a lot to be able to take whats coming for her, that I can tell you.

 **Lizyeh2000** , Thanks for the review! Some people are like that, The more emotional they get the more they feel as if they are going to explode or lose control. Reika doesn't like not being in control. That's why she hates being angry and crying. She lacks control.

 **GalaxyCat101,** Thank you and welcome to Karma's a Bitch. I think a lot of us were when I was writing their deaths I was sniffing and crying, tears dropping pathetically on my keyboard. Thank you once again for your kind words, they really made my day!

 **GreyMoon. Huntress,** Anbu? you think so? At this point, she's almost 8. Could an8-year-old really join Anbu? Itachi was known as the youngest Anbu operative at 13. Aww, that would be cute, Reika coming home from a tough mission only to have a small ball of Neji-ness cling to her leg. You are making my heart ache! I will see what I can do but I won't promise.

 **Maria.k.b.k,** *gives tissues* don't cry, everything will turn out for the better!... I swear I'm not crossing my fingers... Okay, maybe I am... Thanks for the review.

 **Silverlined Phoenix,** Sakumo will definitely help her more than any Yamanaka ever will, that I promise you. I died when I was Gai as your choice! in this story Gai is only somewhat therefore now, I don't think Reika could handle him around for more than a few hours. I find it interesting that you are supporting ReikaXNagato, in a way Nagato's calm features would balance out her anger issues, and they would be a cute couple. I could see it. I will do, if you have more recommendations for other KisameX fanfictions let me know!

 **Guest** , Don't we all hate Danzo. It won't be immediate, but he will die. And I promise I will make it painful, that I swear.

 **Eruki-sama,** Yeah, my stories all seem to have a bit too much drama, Sorry! I'll see what I can do to cut back a bit.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23- Back in Action.

My feet stopped before my mind had processed the whispers around me.

"Did you hear?' one of the shinobi whispered with a cup of tea in his hand.

"Apparently Hatake led the counter-attack on Kumo!"

I swallowed and moving over to the side of the road, closer to the Jonin and bent down. I fumbled with my sandals, pretending to fix them while I listened.

"Yes!' the other exclaimed. "He halted their advance of twenty Kumo-nin with only him and three other Jonin and a Chunin!"

"I heard that they had a Jinchuriki with them!"

"The eight tails?"

"No the Two."

"It's amazing how that man works, I remember being on a squad with him during the Second Shinobi War, he is a force to be reckoned with!"

I could barely resist the grin that wanted to split itself onto my lips.

"I'm glad that he is holding up the Kumo border," the other sighed. "I'm being deployed tomorrow and I hope I'm there as well."

"Same," the first commented. "I would love to be under the others, but right now Sakumo has the most stable border."

"Reika?"

I rose up and jogged back towards Kakashi.

"Sorry!" I said, "my sandal was loose."

His right eyebrow twitched at the lie but he didn't comment, but the others did.

Kushina and Minato laughed, as they lead us through the village towards training ground 7.

"Right." Kushina sang.

"We know you were listening into the conversation," Minato called me out and I scowled at him.

"They were talking about Sakumo-Oji-chan," I muttered, slightly embarrassed that I was caught listening.

"About the Kumo-invasion?" Kakashi asked.

I nodded.

The mask was firmly in place but I could see the pinch in the mask, showing that he was smiling.

And he should.

With the successful reversal of the enemy forces, Sakumo was a vital part in defending the Land of Fire.

We stepped onto the path which reached the train grounds and towards our training ground and away from the residential areas.

"Minato-sensei?" Kakashi asked, speaking up.

"Yes, Kakashi-Kun?" he replied.

"I wondered why the Hokage had put my Dad in charge of the Kumo border if a lot of people hated him for his previous actions?"

His questions caught us off guard, but it had never actually occurred to me. When I was at the border, there didn't seem to be any dislike of Sakumo, like they all know about what happened and respected Sakumo for it.

Like they adored him all the same.

"That is because Sempai is awesome!" Kushina replied, her hands hooking themselves behind her back.

Minato chuckled and crossed his arms thinking deeply about the question.

I couldn't keep the small smile off my face.

For the first time in a bit, my heart soared with happiness and respect. All for the man I called my uncle.

"I would say it is because of a few reasons." The genius tapped his chin before veering off into the forest where our training ground laid. "The first is because the men the Hokage chose to assign to Sakumo are mostly those who have already been in his command, therefore they already know how he works."

We reached the clearing and stopped walking.

"That would then mean that they all sympathize with him and know how trustworthy he is, influencing the others that are under his command."

"Hmm," Kakashi thought on it. "Why else?"

"Sakumo is a great leader, by placing him in the forefront, it is his chance to gain the people's trust back." Minato smiled. "By making good choices, and having his name recognized, people will change their view of him, and he will eventually be forgiven for his mistakes.

"So you mean that Sakumo will regain his honor and the village will love him again." I half asked.

Minato nodded.

"That's what I'm thinking."

"Like I said, It's cause he is awesome!" Kushina emphasized.

"So does that mean you two worked under my father?" Kakashi asked.

I deadpanned.

She called Sakumo, Sempai. Of course, they worked under him.

Both of the adults looked at each other almost as if they were debating how to answer that.

"Yeah, let's go with that." Kushina laughed. "Now lets train!"

Her hands pumped the air and I almost felt sorry for Kakashi, I knew what was coming.

Wait?

Let's go with that?

I wrecked my brain as the others decided what to do.

Anbu.

That was the only reason why they would hesitate like that. Minato, Kushina, and Sakumo worked together in Anbu.

I shrugged to myself.

Oh well, my father and mother probably worked under him in Anbu as well. I wonder what the story behind that is.

"Reika?"

I blinked in surprise looking up at the adults.

"Are you feeling okay?" Kushina's face turned worried and I rolled my eyes.

"I was just distracted," I answered.

"If you are not feeling up to training let us know, okay?" Minato suggested. "Just because you are cleared by the hospital and Inoichi, it doesn't mean that you have to be up to speed right now."

Kakashi gave me a side glance and I glared.

A war just started, of course, we have to get me up to speed as soon as possible.

"I haven't trained in over a month," I growled. "You can't stop me from training now."

The adults laughed and Minato clapped his hands and rubbed them,

"Then what do you say about thirty laps around the training ground!" he grinned.

Kakashi and I groaned.

-.-

"Reika-chan?"

I lifted my head catching the eye of the nurse that popped her head into the room. I continued with tucking in the sheet around the hospital bed, making it straight and neat.

"Yes?"

"Thank you for your help today, You can go when you are finished with this bed."

I pulled a little tighter, making the blanket tighter before doing as she asked.

"It was my job," I responded before pulling out the scroll I had received from the mission's desk that morning.

She opened it before using the wall as a flat surface to sign.

"Still, you did great work today despite it being your first day back."

She handed it back. "I would have thought you would have been still on leave for another few weeks."

I shrugged replacing the scroll in my back pouch.

"I heal fast."

She disappeared soon after.

Sighing I walked down the hall, dodging nurses who were rushing by, with or without patients.

A sudden hunger pain hit my stomach and I resisted the urge to rub it.

Food was the last thing on my mind at that time.

My father had left that morning for the border again. He had been given a week break since he was one of the first to be sent out. I stomped down the worry that built up in my throat.

I needed a distraction.

And that is exactly what I got.

I turned the corner a little too sharply before running into something.

Or rather someone.

"Sorry!" the person bowed.

"Rin?" I asked rubbing my nose, my eyes watering lightly.

The brown haired girl blinked in surprise before she recognized me.

"Rei-chan!" she grinned before purposely coming into contact with me.

"Hey, did you just get off your volunteering?" I asked.

She nodded before looking me over.

"Were you here for a checkup?" she asked falling into step beside me.

"I was on a D-rank," I told her.

"Already?" She asked. "It's only been three weeks since you've been back!"

I shrugged as we took the stairs down to the main floor.

"We are in the middle of a war Rin, I can't stand by and watch," I responded. "I have to do my part."

She paused just outside the hospital doors.

"I know." She responded. "But I'm afraid that if we all do that, then we will never have a chance to be children."

I looked back at her, knowing that what she said was true.

All at once, her face hardened and light sparkled in her eyes.

"We are having a sleepover." She commanded.

I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Where did that come from?" I asked.

She pushed my back forward, forcing me to walk.

"Hurry and go give in the scroll." She ordered again. "The meet me at my apartment!"

She disappeared soon after, running towards the opposite end of the village.

"What the?" I shook my head, not finishing my sentence before sighing and walking towards the Hokage tower to give in the completed mission scroll.

I didn't know what was to come that night when I went to Rin's apartment.

But I sure as hell didn't expect to have to fight my way out of her hands.

…

"No!" I growled dodging her arms as they tried to reach for my neck.

"Reika!" she said equally growling. "Get over here and let me brush your hair!"

"never!" I cried again and slipped on one of the blankets, almost causing her to catch me.

"Why don't you just accept it Reika-chan!"

My eyes narrowed in a glare at the red-eyed woman who sat with her legs around a purple-haired kid my age.

Kurenai and Anko.

"Got you!"

I yelped as Rin jumped on my back, softly I flipped her over my hip and onto her bed before backing away, my back protected by the wall.

Her eyes flashed dangerously and I felt like a trapped rabbit.

My eyes took in Anko's new look, her hair in pigtails on either side of her head. She looked almost like a wet cat, pissed and defeated.

"Reika-chan!" Rin looked at me sweetly slowly moving off the bed.

"Run, Reika!" Anko mouthed, pointing to the door to my left.

My mistake was looking at where she was pointing.

Almost instantly Rin had that door covered.

"Please, Reika?" Her eyes when from dangerous to soft and pleading.

And let me tell you.

Her eyes started to water.

"Just this once!" She asked, twirling her foot. "I don't usually ask you to do things for me, but I just want to feel useful to you for once…"

This pleading look an the guilt tripping was even more dangerous than anything else she could have done.

Why?

Cause she's a-fucking-dorable.

So I ended up on the floor in front of Anko and Kurenai as Rin brushed out my hair, listening to the two girls talk.

"It's just, it so repetitive now," Rin said, making a large stroke before concentrating on a particular difficult knot. "I know First-Aid. I know how to stitch someone up. I know what to do when someone is bleeding to death. I just can't wait until I'm graduated and can actually start with medical ninjutsu!"

Kurenai nodded.

"But isn't it a good thing?" she asked. "If you work in the hospital, then sometimes you have to save your chakra so it's better to keep it for major surgeries rather then for everything."

She was right but Rin continued anyway.

"But I don't want to work in the Hospital my whole life." She answered. " I want to be a field medic, like Lady Tsunade!"

"Like Kurenai said," I answered. "It's good you have both, this way you still have the energy to heal on the field. You will be able to give first aid to those who don't have serious injuries while using your chakra for the major jobs."

Rin sighed.

"I know. I'm just frustrated by my lack of progress." She said.

"A medical ninja, huh." Anko leaned back into the bed she was up against, finally giving into the fact that she won't be able to get out of Kurenei's hands. "You are going to have to be really strong for that."

I nodded agreeing wholeheartedly with her.

"Fast, and good at dodging as well."

"Why's that?" Kurenai asked.

Anko pulled away and looked up at the red-eyed kid.

"Now who wasn't listening to sensei?" she muttered but got a well-deserved smack for the comment.

"Medical-Nins are always the first ones to be picked off," I answered for her.

I got to give it to Rin, for a nine-year-old, she didn't flinch even when I said that.

It must mean that she knew.

She knew that in an encounter, she will always be the first target.

I swallowed, trying to push the picture of Rin tied up screaming while Kiri-nin force a Tailed beast into her.

"I won't die."

I blinked, Rin's face suddenly appearing in my field of vision. I looked up to look into her face clearer.

"I'll be even better than Tsunade." Her determined face turned into a mischievous grin. "Cause you are going to help me."

"Who said I would do that!" I growled.

"Cause you're my friend." She replied with a shit eating grin on her face.

Ladies and Gentlemen.

This is why you don't trust a sweet face.

"Oh! That sounds Fun!" Anko grinned leaning forward.

Kurenai laughed.

"We will help too!" the future Genjutsu master said. "How about every Wednesday night?"

"We can train at my place, my Dad is never home!" Anko said

And that was how I was guilt-tripped twice in under thirty minutes.

-.-

The next few days went by fast. I was often busy, doing menial tasks and training with Kakashi the girls and often Obito.

Speaking about Obito.

The Uchiha clan was a clear indication of the toll the war was putting on manning the village.

"What are you doing here.?

I looked up into the face of someone I had hoped to avoid for quite a while longer.

"Fugaku-sensei." I sighed. "I have a message for the head of the Kohona Police Department."

His eyes narrowed, making his frown deeper then I thought possible.

"I am the head of the Police Department."

I wanted to roll my eyes.

"Then the scroll is for you." I held it out to him and I could see the tick appearing on his forehead.

"Still as disrespectful as ever." He grumbled back.

He took the scroll and I took a look around the office as he read

Other then the grump, there was one other person, a man, civilian by the look of it, in front of an Uchiha in uniform filling out paperwork. The civilians hands were tied so I figured he was being arrested.

"Where is everyone else?" I asked before I could help myself.

The shuffling of papers stopped and I looked back at him.

"A quarter of our staff is out on duty, patrolling the village." He said.

I was surprised he even answered me.

"The other three quarters are not in the village."

I nodded to myself, knowing what that meant.

They were contributing to the war effort.

I watched him take a pen and scribble his signature and write out another message on it.

"I never knew you were left-handed," I mentioned, studying his writing hand.

I blinked again.

"Or married." The thick wedding band was rounded on his finger.

"Why did I ever think that you would be less nosy then your sensei." He growled handing over the scroll.

"Ex-Sensei," I muttered, still bitter about the fact. I grabbed the scroll from his hand and placing it in my pouch.

"Ex?" he asked in surprise.

I nodded before turning around and walking away.

"They split Kushina-sensei and me apart," I told him and reached the door right next to his desk.

I paused before opening it.

"And Thank you for the Training." I refused to look at him. "It kept me alive."

I closed the door behind me, not waiting for his response before making my way out of the building towards the Hokage's office.

"Hyuga."

I stopped in my tracks before looking up from the path.

What is with people sneaking up on me.

"Umino-sensei?" I asked.

The brown-haired man stood just outside the park I had passed.

"It has been a while." He responded before nodding over to the nearby bench.

"I haven't seen you since you graduated."

"I'm on a report running mission," I mentioned. "I have to head to the Hokage's office."

Ikkaku snorted before pointing to the bench.

"Whatever it was, it can't be too important if you are walking and not running." He said. "Let the Sandaime have a few more minutes to himself."

I failed to hide my amusement and despite everything telling me not to, I walked over to my former teacher.

"What are you doing at the park?" I asked him. "Shouldn't you be in class, teaching?"

"It's Saturday Reika." He deadpanned.

I blinked.

"Ah!" I replied. "So it is, I thought you were trying to catch the kids that skip class."

He smirked.

"I don't try, I do." He answered.

"Daddy!"

I blinked in surprise once again as a small brown-haired, brown-eyed boy came running up to us.

"Iruka, meet my ex-student Reika Hyuga." My teacher presented us.

The kid was way younger than me. I would later find out that he was actually four-years-old.

A small high ponytail was ontop his head matched that of his father, making him a mini him.

His was wearing a white long-sleeved top and white pants.

Really? Who brings their kid to the park in white?

The kid smiled brightly and stuck out his hand.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Iruka Umino!"

At least in looks, this kid must have his mother's personality.

I shook the kid's hand and looked over at his father.

"Where did he learn how to smile like that?" I asked.

The kid looked at me confused but Ikkaku sure understood what I meant.

"Very funny brat." He pushed his kid forward. "We still have a bit longer, go play."

The kid took off without any more encouragement, hitting the sandbox and helping the other kids build a lump of sand... I think it was supposed to be a castle? Oh wait there were smaller lumps around it, must be a village.

"I heard about what happened," Ikkaku said.

"Everyone did," I replied, still studying the kid that would eventually have the biggest impact on the world's hero.

I just wished people would stop bringing it up.

Silence fell between us once again as he found the right word to say.

The wheel was obviously turning in his head, he looked from his crossed fingers to me.

"I don't regret graduating early," I told him. "And what happened could not have been prevented if I hadn't."

No, it just would have prologued the time, and changed the people who got hurt.

If I didn't graduate then I would have never met them.

Tsubasa.

Seiichi.

They would have never wormed themselves into my heart.

Iruka pointed over to one of the sand lumps and laughed.

His laugh was contagious and all the other kid did so too.

It was adorable.

"I'm not trying to criticize you, or your decision." He said carefully. "And I know it is selfish.."

He sighed and looked over at me.

"But I'm just glad you survived." His hand raised itself and landed on my head. "I know you probably don't feel that way, but I'm still glad I haven't lost a student yet."

"Thanks," I replied, not sure what else to say. His hand slid off my head just as Iruka ran over to us.

Actually, he ran to me for some reason.

"Hey, Reika-san!" he asked, his eyes bright with happiness. "Can you come to push me on the swing?"

The kid grabbed my hand and forced me to stand.

"Now that is a sight I would never see." Ikkaku grinned as I followed his son.

I was a sucker for cute smiles.

Damn.

Minato, Obito, Rin, Kakashi?

Now Iruka?

Who the hell is next?

Itachi? Hana?

I glared at my old teacher.

"If you keep teasing me like that I'm going to assume that you are starting to like me!" I huffed as Iruka jumped on the swing and I gave him a starting push.

I only got one more in before I was hit in the head with something small.

"Ow." I rubbed the back of my head and looked at the sand where it fell.

"Do you always carry Chalk on you or something!" I hissed.

Ikkaku just looked at me with a smug smile.

-.-

Never in either of my lives did I think I would be here.

Here out of my own will.

Here because of my bright own idea.

But hey, it's worth it.

"You're pregnant," Kakashi asked looking at the feral lady.

Tsume grinned and patted her belly.

"How did you know kid!" she asked.

"Your scent is off, and all the adult nin-kin are around you."

And he was right.

There were four, full-grown wolf dogs sitting around her. Kuromaru was in front of her, putting a barrier between us and his partner.

"Is that where puppies come from?"

Laughter bubbled out of me before I could help it, and I almost collapsed onto the ground.

"No kid, Puppies come from dogs." Tsume laughed. "I think Sakumo-kun forgot to teach someone about where babies come from."

Kakashi turned his head and glared wholeheartedly at me. I could almost see the pink tint rising from his cheeks.

"Speaking of puppies, let's go check them out!" the adult said.

"Puppies why are we going to go see the puppies?"

Kakashi looked between Tsume and me in confusion, with hope shining deep in his black eyes.

"Your birthday is tomorrow, Kashi,. I said, wiping the tears from my eyes.

He blinked before he finally understood.

"You're giving me a puppy?" He asked, his voice rising in pitch just a bit.

"You guys coming or what?"

He needed no more encouragement as he ran towards her, jumping over the gate and into the pen with all the puppies.

Tsume opened the gate and followed him in, the adult nin-kin following close behind me.

"Calm down there kid! They aren't going anywhere." She laughed.

I smiled as we got into the pen, the nin-kin surrounding Tsume as a warning to the puppies to be gentle.

Kuromaru brushed up against me and I couldn't help but notice how his fur was very soft.

I looked into the wolf's eyes and raised my hand, asking for permission.

"Are you no longer scared, Pup?" he asked. "I still remember when you hid behind Sakumo from a month old pug."

I took that as permission and ran my hand through his fur.

He was so much furrier then Kakashi's quartet.

"I'm met people, and done things much scarier than being around dogs," I admitted.

A squeal came from my best friend and I watched as he got surrounded by puppies once more.

A laughter came from the next head of the Inuzuka clan.

Pregnant.

Hana is coming.

I wanted to sigh as I stared at her stomach.

The world won't stop for me, will it? Time will come to pass, and if I don't get any stronger, the next generation will come and I'll be left in the dust.

I smiled at the thought of a little girl running around climbing all over the other dogs.

"A little to the left." The wolf commented and I did as he asked, scratching his ear.

He was so soft.

"Kakashi!" I called.

A grey head popped out of the pile whipping slobber from his face.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Get a fluffy one!" I called back. He grinned before he was tackled back under.

-.-

"Here he comes," I called to the rest of the house, and we all hid all over the living room.

"Whats the big deal?" I heard the annoyed voice said.

I tried to hush the fluffy brown puppy in my arms.

"Quite Akino," I whispered. The puppy squirmed a bit more.

"I don't get why you guys absolutely wanted to go home before the restaurant." He said. "Reika is probably already waiting for us. If we are late, I will never hear the end of it!"

I frowned, I wouldn't tease him that bad.

Suddenly Akino squirmed a bit more than usual at his master's voice and flew from my arms.

I must say, it's funny to see him run, his floppy ears bounce all over the place.

Bull whined next to me and I scratched his ear.

"Hey Akino!" he said, I could picture him bending down as scratching the puppies belly, or head, or wherever else the pup wanted to be scratched. "Aren't you supposed to be with Reika?" he said.

I gave the signal and we all jumped out into the hall.

"Happy Birthday!" We yelled. The four dogs barked/howled behind us, finally able to welcome their partner home.

Kakashi blinked at us.

"You get it now?" Kushina grinning from behind him.

Rin smiled next to me and grabbed his hand before pulling him into the kitchen where we had to spend the last two hours decorating and laying out food.

I was surprised when Obito and Rin ran up to me last week wanting to create a surprise party for Kakashi.

And because my best friend deserves it, I roped Minato and Kushina into it while they got more people involved.

And people they got.

"You guys really outdid yourselves for him," Ikkaku-sensei said, standing next to him, his wife, Kohari.

I shrugged, he deserves it.

"Puppy!" Iruka squealed and landed on Bull's back.

I grinned as the big baby looked like he was in heaven at all the attention.

"That they did." Minato walked over to us, letting the kids take over around Kakashi.

Kushina grinned from beside him placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Minato, Kushina!" Kohari smiled. "It's nice to see you again."

Kushina hugged Kohari before grinning.

"Of course! We haven't seen you two since our Chunin promotions."

I listened in a bit to the adults converse before all of our attention was taken to the door.

"Am I Late?" the black-haired boy yelled.

Everyone stared at him in silence before he caught hold of Kakashi being crowded by Rin, Gai, and a few other classmates.

"Damn." He said, hanging his head.

That caused us all to laugh at his attics.

Before I realized it, my feet took me away from the adults to the Uchiha of the group.

"Come on, Sunshine," I said pushing his back so that he moved towards the crowd of kids. "Let's join the party."

He stumbled forward and rubbed the back of his head.

"Hi," he muttered. The kids laughed again and we were brought into the conversation.

A conversation I later stepped out of.

By Kids, I meant a lot of the Sensei-generation.

Kurenai and Asuma were speaking to each other, with Gai yelling, pour boy not realizing that he was becoming the third wheel. Anko was talking to Genma and Ibiki, Shiba scratching his ear near them. Rin was holding the new puppy in her arms with Biskue at Obito's feet.

And Pakun was being chased by Iruka.

I laughed as the kid almost got him, but was picked up by his father, and scolded lightly.

This did not stop the Pug from jumping on Bull's back and onto the counter where I stood.

"Crazy Kid!" the dog growled hiding behind me.

I chuckled patting Bull's head.

"You could have just got caught," I smirked.

"Yeah, right." He shook. "I'm not that crazy."

"Why are you standing over here?" he asked me.

I looked down at Bull who pawed my foot to get me to keep scratching him.

"Other then Bull." The pug stated.

I shrugged in reply.

"Just watching everyone."

Cause I knew something was going to happen.

The puppy heard it first.

Squirming out from Rin's arms he hit the ground and ran to the door.

He howled and tried to bark at the mysterious person behind the door.

I activated my Kekei Genkai, even though I honestly didn't need to.

"Hello." The person said.

"Who are you?"

My best friend's eyes welled up with tears and he ran out of the kitchen.

"Daddy!"

I smiled and scratched Pakun with my other hand.

I haven't heard Kakashi call Sakumo that in years.

"Happy 8th Birthday, my son." he hugged his son before moving into the kitchen where everyone was still waiting.

"What did you guys do to my house?" my uncle asked.

"Surprised Kakashi." Obito grinned, crossing his arms like he was so proud of what he did.

"You were late, Obito." Asuma called causing everyone to laugh. "So you didn't really surprise anyone."

Said Uchiha rubbed the back of his head and I smiled.

"And this is Akino." Kakashi picked up the puppy for his father. "Reika bought him for me."

Sakumo immediately sought me out in the crowd and caught my eye.

I motioned the path of a tear on my cheek and he grinned.

Whoever said nin-kin were cheap was delusional.

I think spends half my fucking savings on the puppy.

He smirked and I was suddenly surrounded by Ibiki and Anko, Genma going to take Gai away from Asuma and Kurenai.

"That's Kakashi's Dad?" Anko asked from the bar stool next to the island.

"Sakumo Hatake, he led the counter-attack on Kumo a few weeks ago right?" Ibiki confirmed.

I nodded smiling at the man.

"Probably one of the best Jonin we have!" I told them with pride in my voice.

Rin and Obito got pulled in to speaking with the two white-haired ninja, Obito using large gestures and Rin giggling next to him.

We will be fine.

I grinned, chuckling to myself.

"What so funny?" Anko asked, appearing in my view.

I took a step forward.

"Your face," I replied.

"Why You!" she grappled me to the ground and I laughed louder, wrestling with her.

This caught the attention of everyone around and soon I got words of encouragement from my precious people. None of the adults doing anything about it. Probably due to Kushina's insistence.

"Let them be kids," she would say.

I'll have their backs.

I'll make them stronger.

I will protect them.

I flipped Anko over and put her in a choke.

To make sure that even I will have a hard time fighting them.

That our Generation will be more famous than the Sanin.

They will be more famous then Naruto's generation.

We will be known in every village.

Sakumo dragged me off her.

"Can't I have peace and quiet for two minutes." He muttered but I could hear the amusement in his voice. "I just got home."

Yes.

I like the sound of that.

This way none of us will be killed by someone else.

High Jonin or Kage level.

Every single one of them will be at least that.

-.-

Hey Peeps.

So this time the chapter is a bit shorter. I wanted to give you guys a more light chapter before the next serise of events happen.

I couldn't help but put the part about puppies in there. Just thinking about Kakashi asking where babies come from makes me laugh. But thinking Tsume is so feral that her babies must be puppies was too much to leave out.

So this week's question is... Who do you think is the next character that is going to make their appearance?

Recommendation: Kakashi's Secret - But Not So Secret - Wife, by **NinaAnoit**. I have been following this Fanfic or a while, while somewhat on the more serious tone, the fanfiction is a fun read and what I love the Oc.

Thank you all for your views, favorites, follows and Reviews.  
RavenMocker6

 **Dark Rose Charm** , Heya! Sorry for the scare, I had a hard time getting into the rhythm of writing again. As you can see from this chapter, just because Kushina is no longer her sensei, it does not mean she is will never see her again. All her friends were a bit of a wretch when she went missing. and Obi is obi, adorable as hell. Thanks for telling me about your story, I'll definitely check it out when I get a chance.

 **TheOne320** , You know that would be great, he really should! it would solve so many problems! She is going to try, don't worry about that, but like most characters, she will become better when things get tough.

 **taylor. denney2** , Thank you! Hopefully, I'm done with making you cry for the next few chapters. Thank you for reviewing, I'll update as soon as possible.

 **Reginleif2004** , Eeep, I'm sorry, not sorry. Reika tends to Broad quite a bit, often stuck in the dumps so sorry in advance. You know I always thought that he would have only made Anbu at around 12 but no that makes sense for it to be around 10-11 years old. Thanks for the clarification. We'll see what happens.

 **GreyMoon. Huntress** , Actually I only thought about adding it halfway through the chapter. Shibi was older then Tsubasa by 9 years. Shibi is Minato and Kushina's generation. Tsubasa was the baby of the family. Hope you like this chapter as well.

 **cwrywn** , You know I never thought of that. You have given me a good idea about Kakashi's POV... I wonder how far I could go with it. I think everyone is hoping for a good ending for them all, but we will see where we go with them. all my plans are subject to change. Oh my, Team with Gai... I think she would punt him through a wall! You will see in the next chapter where she will be good, and who she will be with. I wonder if anyone has guessed it yet.

 **Levin Kluge** , Yo! Thanks! Hope you enjoy this chapter as well.

 **Guest** , Thank you! I'm glad you think so. When I started this idea, I just wanted to see where it would go. Not really sure where this idea was going to take me, that's probably why my writing has changed a bit. Now I'm pretty sure I know I'm going to end up finishing it. Thanks again.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24- Out of the storm? As if!

-Rin's P.O.V-

How did we get to this?

"Bakashi!" Obito-kun yelled pointing his finger at Kakashi-kun. "I challenge you!"

I glanced between the two, worried as the intensity in Obito-kun gaze. It was like he was even more determined to win.

"Why do you even Try, Dobe?" Kakashi-kun asked sighing before rubbing his hand in his hair.

I tried to not let my blush rise as more of his face was uncovered. "You are going to lose anyway."

"Come on you two, please don't fight!" I asked them, but as usual, when it comes to beating each other up, they always up to it.

"Leave them to it, Rin." I looked over my shoulder to see Reika stepping up beside me, an apple in her hand.

What is with Reika and apples?

I wonder if it is her favorite food?

"They won't stop unless we let them get it out of their system."

"She is right, Rin-chan!" Gai said from my other side, giving me a thumbs up. "Let them fight it out most Youthfully!"

"I will not lose this time!" Obito screamed again before he grinned in triumph. "I say the Winner gets Rin's first kiss."

"What!" I cried.

"So I will win!" he said pumping his fists in the air.

"Obito, you can't just volunteer someone's.." Kakashi-kun got cut off as Reika started to choke on her apple.

I immediately went to her rubbing her back helping her.

"I think that is a great prize!" Gai grinned. "I think I shall fight as well!"

I am not kissing Gai! Nor Obito!

Though I don't think I would mind Kakashi…

"No way!" I growled still trying to help Reika! "I'm not going to be some gift-wrapped prize!"

Obito-kun and Gai-kun just looked at me for a second before they started to yell challenges to Kakashi-kun once again.

"I'm not doing it." the silver-haired boy said.

Happiness rose in my throat as Kakashi-kun rose to my defense.

He does care.

"Not even with that as a motivation will either of you win against me."

I frowned before turning my attention back to Reika-chan. Not even he is going to stand up for me?

She held her mouth, trying to turn away from me.

"Rei-chan?" I asked only to realize she wasn't choking anymore.

She was snickering.

I gritted my teeth as the Hyuga I called my best female friend tried to hide her laughter.

This was really starting to get me angry.

"Stop this!" I growled again. "It is my choice as to who I chose to give it too!"

But again the boys just weren't listening.

"I told you, Rin." Reika-chan had finally calmed down but she still had a smirk on her face. "They are going to end up fighting anyway."

She folded her arms behind her head.

"The only way to stop them is to take away their prize."

I blinked before looking over at her.

Rei-chan was brilliant.

"Oi you three! Look over here!" I cried just as Obito went in for a punch.

All three boys turned their attention to me at just the right moment.

Placing my hands on either side of Reika's face I placed a big fat one on her lips.

The silence that came after was music to my ears.

"And the next time you guys try and use me as a way to start a fight I am not going to hold back and I will be the one to send all three of you to the hospital!" I growled.

I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at the three of them as they looked on with surprised looks on their face.

"Noooo~" Obito-kun cried knees hitting the floor, sniffing. "Rin's first kiss…"

I glanced over to the side and noticed how Reika hadn't moved an inch.

"Uh, Reika-chan?" I asked.

My stomach dropped as I suddenly thought of all the reasons why I shouldn't have done that.

Is she mad? I know she comes from a traditional clan that doesn't accept same-sex couples…

Is she like that too? Is she disgusted with me?

A snort came from her lips causing my worry to shatter into a million pieces.

She fell to the ground rolling into a ball and laughing harder then I have ever heard.

She slapped the grass below her and I couldn't help but blush with embarrassment.

Why was I ever worried?

Even the boys were shocked at funny she thought this was.

"Oh come on, Reika!" Obito cried. "It is not that funny!"

"Actually I say it is!" Gai smiled. "Afterall if we had a free for all, Reika would have probably been the last one standing."

"I would have had a chance!" Kakashi argued.

Did he want to be my first kiss?"

"I doubt that.." Obito pouted.

Reika controlled her breathing before slowly climbing back to her feet.

Her eyes caught mine and I saw her brush her lips with her thumb.

Yeah, she knew.

I looked away innocently.

"You are guys are just jealous that I got Rin's first kiss and you didn't." She smiled.

I always liked Reika's smile. It made her look way more like the child she really was.

She is always protecting us.

Like just now.

How she rolled with my lie.

The lie that I gave her my first kiss, when in reality…

My thumbs were in the way.

These are perks to having a girl as a friend.

-.-

-Minato's P.O.V-

There weren't many kids around with her drive.

I watched the brown-haired girl control her breathing as she forced herself to walk around the training ground.

My apprentice, on the other hand, was gasping on the ground.

That's Kushina's stamina training for you.

"Get up, Kashi." She prodded her best friend with her foot, and he tried to swat it away. "You are going to get a cramp if you don't walk it off."

The kid groaned again but did what she asked.

"Are you two okay," I asked moving towards them.

"Why do you feel the need to give us Kushina's training regimen," Kakashi asked me.

"It's not that bad," Reika replied. "We only did 10 laps of the inner walls."

"Only ten?" he growled.

She shrugged.

"She does 50 as her morning warmup."

That sure shut my student up.

I laughed before bringing them in.

"So I want you guys to spar a bit, concentrate on the different ranges. Starting from outside your kill range, then within it, and lastly close quarters." I told them.

Reika nodded.

"Do we start in clinch for the close quarters?" she asked.

I nodded.

"No weapons, no Jutsu, just taijutsu," I told them, looking directly at Kakashi the little cheater.

 _"_ _If you aren't cheating you aren't trying when it comes to her!" he said point to Reika who purposely looked away to seem innocent._

"Yeah yeah." He groaned before starting outside Reika's kill range.

I studied the fight thoroughly.

Outside of each other's range, it takes skill to be able to get in and not get countered.

But that was exactly what Reika wanted.

She stepped in without even crossing her legs, using the back leg to propel herself forward. Giving a basic punch towards Kakashi's stomach. He parried it with his right hand lashing out with his foot towards her sternum.

That was her opening.

Pushing up his leg, she swept his other foot. He almost fell but used the pressure she pushed with to counter her, pushing himself into the air trying to kick her head.

It was like a gentle guiding as she stepped just out of range for his foot to pass.

This girl was good.

I knew that. I knew that from the moment Kushina walked in ranting about her and how she had no idea how she was going to teach her, and what she was going to teach her.

When I had stepped up to the plate and told her that I would train her that one day while fishing for information about my then-new apprentice, I was not expecting a kid that could rival a chunin at timing drills. A Hyuga, who was proficient in their taijutsu to be able to brawl like Kushina or to use crisp clear and powerful hits like an Uchiha. This kid was going to be terrifying at taijutsu when she gets older.

When Reika took a look at the two other styles that I told Kushina that might be able to work, None of us thought she would be able to catch it so fast.

A month.

It took her a month to be able to use them in a fight.

To use styles that were the complete opposite of what had been drilled into her throughout her young life.

She ducked just as Kakashi kicked down with the other foot, landing the foot in the cross guard above her head.

And she slipped her right hand down, gripping onto his left foot with her left hand pulling it to her.

I watched as she shot out her elbow and hit him mid-thigh.

He bounced out of her reach, hissing at the stinging sensation that most probably rattled his leg.

I smiled as they went back at it, Kakashi getting the next hit in on ribs only for her to use it to her advantage and throwing him to the floor.

When one grapples they are supposed to make the least amount of space between their opponent possible.

That is something that takes years of bruises and close calls to understand. trapping his feet with her own she glided on top of him then into an armlock without giving an inch of space for him to shrimp out.

It was crazy.

She was 8 years old.

I wasn't that good even at 13 years old when I became a chunin.

This kid was a true Genius.

This wasn't saying that Kakashi wasn't.

My apprentice was better at throwing jutsus around, and at tracking.

Where Reika lack was actually surprising. As a Hyuga, she is automatically a sensor due to her Kekkei Genkai. But she sucks at using it. Okay, I'm being too harsh.

She does not suck.

She is excellent at using the techniques that give her an advantage in taijutsu, but when it comes to using her Kekkei Genkai to look ahead and see what is coming? It is like she forgets that she has it.

Kushina even said it.

It's like she doesn't like using it. Or just isn't used to it.

Instead, she uses chakra sense instead. No doubt about it her sensing abilities are amazing, I wouldn't be surprised if she had chakra sensitivity with not only how good she can locate and recognize chakra but how carefully she can manipulate it.

But still, she barely uses her Byakugan in Training.

It was puzzling.

"Kakashi!" Reika growled dodging the weapon he had snuck in. "You cheater!"

"I have no idea what you are talking about!" the other said bouncing off the ground and sliding next to the weapon he had secretly let fly. He hid it in his pouch.

That kid knew me too well.

He knew that when I started to think about something I drift off and don't think of anything else around me.

"Stop," I told them.

Reika frowned, but I knew she wouldn't be too mad for long.

Actually, I don't think she was mad at all.

"I had said no kunai," I told him.

"It wasn't a kunai." He defended.

Reika snickered.

"It was a Senbon, right?"

He nodded. "A Senbon is barely considered a weapon."

I facepalmed.

These two kids are going to be the death of me.

Thank the Hokage that only one of them are actually mine.

-.-

-Kakashi's P.O.V-

Sometimes she wakes me up in the middle of the night.

Not that it is very hard.

The only thing she has to do is whimper.

My head shot up and I immediately scanned the room for someone. Anyone, to tell me that we were being attacked.

But like always, we weren't.

I looked over to see the people I secretly called my best friends.

I was on the ground with Pakun to my right. Rin was cuddled up on the couch, Surprisingly Anko was on the other side of it, her feet intertwined with Rin's. Between Rin and the couch, Akino was sleeping curled up. Shiba was on top of them, sleeping like a cat.

Gai was passed out half in the lowest empty shelf of our bookshelf on the other side of the room having rolled out of his covers. Probably by fighting 'unyouthful' enemies.

The Dobe was spread out on the other side of Reika, one of his feet on top her the rest of his body spread eagle. One of his hands was grabbing Biscuit's tail, but the laidback dog didn't care for he was sleeping on his back as well, all four paws in the air, his tongue hanging out.

What a special dog.

Reika. As usual, she was lying next to me, using Bull as a headrest curled up towards me.

My eye caught him and he shifted to be able to lick her closest arm.

Then I heard it again.

 _"_ _Karoline."_

It wasn't the first time I heard the word. I suspected it was a name but I never asked her.

She will tell me when she is ready.

My hand brushed away her bangs from her forehead and I stared at the seal that I knew by heart.

I never asked her about it. My father had explained it when I was a child.

I was smart enough to know that it must have hurt.

My eyes went back up to Rin and Obito. Apparently, they saw the aftermath of the seal and what happens when Reika loses control.

My eyes narrowed on Obito.

Apparently, he saw it twice.

My fist gripped the blankets.

I don't understand why she leaves us all behind when that happens.

"Why doesn't she come to us?" I asked Bull.

He licked her arm again and I let her bangs fall.

A seal to control her movements.

A seal to seal the Byakugan when she dies.

A seal to control her.

A seal that I know she hates.

But she never tells us about it.

She tries to take everything on her shoulders, and never lets anyone in. She tries to protect everyone without letting herself be protected either.

This girl has done so much for me. She never abandoned us when everyone told her to.

Yes, she was even punished for it. We were told about that by her mother, explaining why she wouldn't be by that night. And that night, she still came despite being in so much pain.

She always put us before herself, listening when I needed someone. But she never asked for anything in return.

She's My Best Friend.

I gritted my teeth.

My Sister.

She's family.

Then why doesn't she ever come to me?

She whimpered again.

 _"_ _Tsubasa,"_

Yeah them as well.

They were my friends too.

And they died.

 _"_ _Seiichi,"_

I swallowed my nerves and laid back down, moving onto Bull's shoulder, placing my forehead on hers without waking her.

"Don't you dare disappear on me too, Imouto," I whispered to the night and closed my eyes.

I Forced myself back to sleep.

-.-

-Gai's P.O.V-

Rin and Obito have always been my oldest and dearest friends.

We met at the playground where my father would often take me to do youthful training.

When I heard that they had been accepted, I too wanted to go to the Academy, but I failed the first examination due to not being able to use ninjutsu.

That was also the time I swore that I would make Kakashi my rival. Out of our friends, he was the only one to ever laugh at me.

But even though that, we have been able to start a friendship, and he has come to respect me despite my handicap.

Yes, I know that not being able to use Ninjutsu or Genjutsu was a handicap. Although I may always act motivated and one could even say like an 'airhead', I know very well what was going on.

I know when I have the advantage and when I do know. Who will come to respect me and who won't.

The one person I was never able to gauge was Reika.

As a Clan child, a gifted clan child of a traditional clan, I should have been looked down upon. I should have never been looked at like I was anyone else.

I don't think I ever told her that I couldn't use my chakra in such ways.

She just didn't care. It was like she always knew.

She treated me like a friend from the beginning.

The second day of being accepted on conditional standing to the Academy she was helping me with mathematics and writing, just like she was Obito.

She was most Youthful and intelligent. Someone whom one day I will challenge.

She is strong and caring as well.

Training until I dropped was normal for me. When I did so, often it was my father that would come to find me and bring me back or else I would wake up in the morning.

Then Reika started walking by the academy at night, finding me passed out trying to find a way to get around my handicap. Then she would walk to my house on the other side of the village and hand me over to my father.

She would often do this thing as well. The thing where she steps back. She takes a look at us, studying us like we were something she was unsure of.

Like she couldn't get too close.

This happened at Kakashi's 8th birthday party.

I was talking to Asuma and Kurenai and looked over to see the lilac-eyed seven-year-old looking us over, with a small smile on her face, watching out for us.

Checking to make sure we are safe?

I can almost picture her like a mother duckling counting her chicks.

I laughed to myself as I stared up at my ceiling.

Next time I'm going to call her that.

The most Youthful Mother Duckling.

But sometimes she stares at us like she doesn't belong. Like we would be better off without her around.

So when that happens I send her a thumbs up with a twinkling smile because she is worth it, and that she will always be welcome here.

Cause she keeps us in line…

Like ducklings.

I want to be the Green one…

-.-

-Obito's P.O.V-

I wasn't sure what had come over me.

Why did I hit her?

Reika was one of my best friends and at that moment she needed me more than ever before.

Out of the seven people running around trying to find her, I was the first to do so.

Honestly, I wasn't sure how no one had thought of checking the forest? Rin should have known just as well as I did that Reika goes to the forest when she is upset.

Before that day I thought of Reika as some unstoppable, unbreakable force.

How wrong was I?

Reika always knows the answer to the craziest things. Never becoming too frustrated with my endless questions and I get it when she explains things.

I've almost never seen her lose. By almost never I mean once. I swear Bakashi cheated.

But seeing her so broken and defeated shook me up more then I let on.

It got me angry too.

So I hit her.

How dare she.

How can she even think to say that?

Are we better without her?

That she should just disappear?

I forced my hands to let go of my sheets and laid back in my bed.

I pressed the palms of my hands to my burning eyes.

"Obito!" my grandmother called from outside my room.

I blinked, reeling myself back in and getting up.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Supper!" she replied.

I walked to the door, catching my reflection in the mirror for a second.

Red

I did a double take, but it was gone.

A fragment of my imagination.

I chuckled nervously rubbing my eyes again.

Nope, still black.

"Obito!" My grandmother called again.

"Coming!"

-.-

-Reika's P.O.V-

September had slipped by fast and soon enough, October was finally here.

Despite being back in the Genin Corps, no one could say I wasn't busy.

"Reika-chan!"

I gave a small smile as I stepped on the wet autumn leaves coming closer to the house I hadn't seen since the last time he hired us.

Ken'ichi hadn't changed.

"Hello, Ken-san," I said coming to a stop in front of him. "How is your back?"

He started to chuckle.

"As broke as ever." He moaned stretching and rubbing at his lower back.

"I'm sorry to hear that," I told him, handing him my delivery, a scroll of ores.

"I think the Hokage wants to kill me." He said but took the scroll none-the-less.

I shrugged before looking over to the crates of weapons he had piled near the entrance of his workshop.

"It looks that way," I told him.

"Come in for some tea." He said turning around and moving into the hot workshop.

"We both need to get back to work, Ken-san," I said trying to dodge the offer.

But as usual, it never worked.

"None of that, Reika-chan." His voice was stern and there was no room for argument. "We have both been working hard, the Hokage at least owes us a little tea break."

I sighed, following the older man into his home.

Like the many times before, he had me sit down as he prepared tea before bringing it to the table.

"So I see you are back on the Genin Corps roster." He mentioned getting straight to the point.

I looked away from him.

"Yeah." I paused unsure what to say but he beat me to it.

"How long until you are placed on another Genin Team?" he asked.

I was surprised when he didn't ask about Team 6.

But he probably knew that I didn't want to talk about it.

I shrugged.

"When a place becomes available," I replied. "Probably."

He took a sip of his tea.

"That's a good enough time." He nodded. "How about apprenticing with me."

I couldn't stop the laugh that fell from my lips.

"Are you still going on about that?" I shook my head.

He shrugged, "Worth a chance."

His green eyes sparkled in amusement.

"You might have needed a change since the last time I saw you."

To heal between the ears.

That part went unsaid as I remembered our chat during Team 6's first Week long D-rank.

"I think you are going senile in your old age, Ken-san." I took a sip of my tea and leaned back in the chair.

"I'm only 61, Reika! I have time yet!"The older man laughed loudly before a knock interrupted us.

I blinked in surprise as he stood up trying to hide it behind my cup.

61, I thought he was like 75 or something!

Ops.

I shook my head before I recognized the voice of the person that interrupted us.

And no I had never heard the voice before.

At least not in this lifetime.

"Danzo!"

My blood froze in my veins.

"Come in! We just made tea."

"Ah, forgive me Ken'ichi, did you have a guest?"

I looked up, clearly wiping all emotion from my face.

Shit.

Why the fuck is he here.

"Reika-chan." Ken sat back down in his chair while Danzo took the seat beside us. "May I introduce Councilman Danzo Shimura, I fought alongside him and the Third during the First Shinobi War."

I don't know how I managed to speak after. No, how I managed to stay calm and emotionless.

"My name is Hyuga, Reika, Shimura-san." Ken'ichi's observant eyes shifted from Danzo to me, most likely trying to figure out where the tension that suddenly appeared came from.

"Ah yes, Reika-chan. It is nice to meet you, I've heard about you from Sandaime-sama."

His voice was cheery and he was obviously younger than in the Anime.

Bandages were still wrapped around his forehead, and right eye, but both arms were free,

He bent down, placing his cane on the floor beside him before grabbing the cup of tea that was placed in front of him.

I stayed silent, unsure if I wanted to cower away or rip out his throat.

"Although I am glad that you have finally come to visit, May I ask what the occasion is?" Ken asked.

Danzo chuckled.

"Straightforward as ever old friend." He leaned onto the table. Almost in response, I moved back from it, Not wanting the man any closer to me.

"I was wondering if you could fix up my old sword for me." he sipped at his tea once again, as comfortable as a Lion in his own den. "I will be joining the fight and I want to have my blade sharpened."

I swallowed air and dug my nails into my arm, trying to make me wake up.

I was sitting here.

Just sitting here while the Blacksmith and the man of my nightmares spoke.

I bit my cheek, tasting blood before reason finally slammed back into me.

"Rei-chan?" Ken'ichi asked as I slide out my chair.

"Thank you for the Tea, Ken-san," I said. "But I must go, Hokage-sama is waiting for me."

I nodded my head at the man before moving to leave the room.

"Ah, I must be going as well."

Shit.

Danzo picked up his cane and got up from his chair.

"Let's walk together, Reika-chan."

That suffix got under my nerves more than usual.

I never gave him permission to address me in such familiar terms.

He handed a scroll to Ken and went to my side before I could say anything against it.

Shit. I calculated my time and wracked my brain.

There had to be a way.

A way out of this.

I followed Danzo out of the house and workshop, Ken'ichi following for goodbyes.

"Think about what I said, Reika." His voice was serious and I tried to give a small smile but it came out as a slight nod. "This place is always open to you."

A quick calculation told me that I was at least a few minutes run away from the outskirts of the city. A good ten minutes hard run away from the Uchiha police station.

If I could make it there. I might be safe.

Fugaku may be an asshole, but he wouldn't let a child be harmed.

At least I hope he wouldn't.

Silence fell between us fast, and I let him move in front of me.

The back.

You never want to show your back to your enemy.

And Danzo was my enemy.

I wish I had asked Minato or Kushina about Shunshin already.

I made the desition that if I made it back home, I would get them to teach me.

Tomorrow.

I would confront Kushina and make her teach me immediately.

I watched his back as he hobbled slowly forward not speaking to me.

It's not like I was hiding my carefulness.

No, it would have been useless anyway.

The man probably knew that I caught on.

I'm not stupid.

What was it that Umino used to say?

 _Always assume that your enemy knows what you know._

 _This way you will never be surprised on the battlefield._

We reached a particular shady area, where trees grew around us, and bushes were beside them. I slowly fed my eyes chakra, turning on my Byakugan and studied them thoroughly.

This was the best ambush site from Ken'ichi's house to the city. It is where the forest was most dense.

Danzo gave no clue that he caught on to what I was doing and I studied my location.

No one.

There was no one around.

I bit back a smile.

This meant that this perfect ambush site can be my perfect getaway site.

I slowly lowered my body, eager to get the fuck away from him.

I studied the branch that would be my first target, my chakra completely in my control, ready to be completely cut off.

"Reika-chan." I froze my body completely in the shadows. "Just where do you think you are going?" he asked, his voice calm and collected.

He hadn't moved.

But just his voice made sweat drip from around my neck, fear making the sweat turn cold.

"You're recent actions have made quite the impression in the council room." He turned around, his voice straight as if he hadn't just caught me trying to get away. "Graduated at five years old, a record for the academy and a certified Genius. Only Genin Survivor of the start of this war, having killed two chunin in the process and unlocking your killing intent all in the same event."

He hummed, his hand holding his cane loosely, his other hand hidden under his sleeve.

Run.

I wanted to run so bad.

"What do you want with me." the words came out in a hiss, my fists bunched up at my sides.

"You have been through so much at such a young age…" he continued, whether he was stalling for time or trying to be shrewd, I didn't care. "I can make it so you don't lose an important person ever again."

Yeah.

You'll change me so much that I won't ever consider anyone important.

I stopped down the voice that whispered that maybe it could be a good thing.

To never have to worry about whether my actions would harm someone important.

The wind blew through the trees, making the sweat feel even colder. A shadow covered me, and I almost jumped expecting a member of Root to attack me, but it was only a cloud covering the sun.

"No, thank you," I said, trying to see calm and collected, but failing miserably. "I'm fine how I am."

His head moved to the side.

"Reika-chan," he chuckled moving just a bit more towards me. It was only my pride that made me stand my ground. "Did you know I am the most powerful Earth user the village has?"

"Good for you."

Shit.

The heat was crawling up my body like lava shooting up the main vent. Coming closer to the surface, just waiting to erupt.

All this time, it hadn't reared its ugly head, but all of a sudden it chose now to surface?

"I can train you in becoming even more powerful than me."

His hand landed on my shoulder and I immediately moved to slap it off with a snarl.

But I never got passed twisting towards him, a hand raised.

Killing intent caused my breath to be caught in my throat suffocating.

It felt like I had suddenly become Atlas, the heavens forced onto my shoulders, struggling to move, begging for relief.

And like Zeus did to Atlas…

Danzo was making me submit.

"The Hokage and the rest of the council have given me permission to train whom I wish, and I have chosen you." His hand seemed to tighten on my shoulder. "You will see very soon, Reika, Why you should do what I want."

Fear made my limb shake even more.

His head came closer.

"Then again I think you have already found that out the hard way."

There is no way.

There is no way I can get everyone up to Danzo level this soon. He's going to target them.

He's going to kill every single one of my friends and my family until he gets what he wants.

Just like he did Tsubasa and Seiichi.

The fear was back. In full force and, to my horror, I felt myself tear up.

Who is going to be next?

Kakashi?

Rin?

My mother?

I'm going to have to accept.

I don't have a choice.

I'm going to have to abandon them, and my humanity once again.

I had finally become a better person.

Someone who lived for a reason. Killed for a reason, rather than just to feel again.

My mouth opened very slightly

"So accept my offer willingly…"

Danzo wasn't able to finish his sentence.

And the reason why? Well, whatever I had been expecting, it wasn't this.

"Or What?"

The killing intent vanished and I struggled to keep standing.

Someone had grabbed Danzo's arm, pulling it away from mine.

I blinked in surprise, trying to get the black spots out of my vision.

My eyes trailed up the arm and were surprised to see white.

"I thought I smelled a Rat."

I blinked once again in amazement at the hatred that had formed on his face.

"Go Crawl Back in your Hole, Advisor."

"Sakumo-kun," Danzo said in surprise. "You've gotten quite good at hiding your presence."

"Stop playing nice and stay away from my Niece!" he hissed. "I will not let you corrupt her like you almost did me."

"Oji-chan," I whispered almost scared at the expression that his face yielded.

Sakumo was in full gear, his face cold and distant. It was different compared to what it normally was.

He was completely serious. His eyes, although the same black, seemed to have become an abyss. Like looking into chaos. Not a chaos that we know, but the Void in which the Ancient Greeks believed everything came from. A look that promised emptiness.

"Reika-chan." Danzo nodded his head. "Think about my offer. Your talent is being wasted."

He hobbled off like a weak old man afterward.

But we know that he was anything but.

My legs gave out as he left our sight, landing flat on the ground.

Nothing.

There was nothing I could have done.

"Are you okay, Reika?"

I must have been a pitiful sight. Looking up at him like that.

He bent down and his hands took my cheeks, rubbing the tears I had no idea I had shed.

I swallowed and forced myself to nod.

"He's a bad person isn't he." I managed to say.

I really hadn't expected Danzo himself to come to try and collect me. He had been more terrifying then I had thought.

"He himself doesn't think so." Sakumo pulled me into a hug. "And unfortunately neither does the Hokage."

I let myself be comforted by his warmth, right there in the street. His chakra familiar and safe to me.

Where I almost gave in once again.

"I'm sorry I didn't come sooner." He said. "I was on the way to the training grounds when I sensed you two."

"Thank you for coming," I replied, but I knew that he would not always be there.

In a week he will be sent out again, and I'll be left with the other kids, defenseless against that bag of shit.

Sakumo let go of me, his face turning back to its normal state.

"Let's head home," he said, guiding me with a hand on my back.

We walked in silence as I processed what just happened.

There was bad blood between those two.

A lot of it and I wanted to know why.

"His training," I asked, unsure how to phrase it. "It is horrible?"

He sighed before unlocking his door.

"I don't know." He admitted. He ushered me into the kitchen and I found it odd that there were no immediate tapping nails on the flooring.

They must be training with Kakashi and Minato.

He led my living room and sat on the couch with me.

"I only found out last year how bad he really was."

"Is it confidential?" I asked, curious.

He shook his head.

"He put the idea in my head." He said.

I looked at him confused, unsure what he meant.

What happened a year ago.

Then it clicked.

His suicide.

Danzo tried to get Sakumo to commit suicide.

"Kakashi," I whispered. "He wanted to isolate Kakashi."

Sakumo nodded.

"Exactly,"

"With me out of the way, He could get a hold of Kakashi. Manipulating him into obeying him."

Rage filled me but I stomped it down, squeezing my eyes shut.

"Did he have a hand in Tsubasa and Seiichi's death?"

My eyes snapped open and I stared.

How the fuck did he know.

"I thought so." He crossed his arms and paced back and forth. "Minato told me that the Hokage had a meeting with him right after your report, so I thought it was odd."

"Why is he left off so easy, then?" I hissed. "He should die for that!"

Sakumo nodded.

"I agree," He looked out the window. "but we can't prove it without solid evidence."

"Why doesn't the Hokage issue a raid on him?" I growled. "If he took action this could be avoided!"

Seiichi and Tsubasa would still be alive.

Sakumo looked at me and sighed.

"It's not that simple Reika." He bent down in front of me and pat my head.

"I'm telling you this like I would an Adult, cause that is what you are." He looked at me in sadness. "A mini Adult."

I didn't understand what he was getting at.

"When the Nidaime gave power to the current Hokage, he also named his advisors." He paused. "Himura Mitokado, Koharu Utatane, and Danzo Shimura. All three were given the power to make sure that the Sandaime did not take complete control and to make sure that the will of his predecessors was not forgotten. This meant that at least three of them had to be in agreement so that things could happen."

"Then that means that the Hokage needs the other two advisors to side with him to perform a raid on Danzo?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"That's stupid."

Sakumo chuckled, Rubbing my head.

"Until then, nothing can happen."

I looked back down.

"Then how am I going to get out from under his nose?" I asked him. "There has to be a valid way."

Sakumo's face saddened.

"We will find a way," he said, but he didn't sound very convincing.

He knew I was royally fucked.

He crossed his arms and looked up to the doorway.

Unsteady and rushed clicking of nails caught our attention and came running towards us yipping.

Puppy Akino wagged his tag looking up at Sakumo before turning to the couch.

He tried to hop on but got the cushion in the chest, falling off.

But that didn't deter him.

Almost immediately he tried again, and again, and again until he made it.

"That's it," Sakumo said as I got a face full of puppy slobber.

"What is?" I asked him, pushing Akino away from me.

"You need to be adopted into a team in which Danzo has no authority over."

He was already halfway across the room.

"What do you mean?" I yelled after him.

"Look after Akino," he called back. "I'll be back soon."

I looked towards the entrance and heard the door slam.

The puppy looked at the door confused, his head tilted in that super cute way before looking over his shoulder and yipped at me.

I shrugged in reply.

"I don't know Akino," I answered. "I have no idea."

I sat back down on the couch, getting a lap full of brown fur.

I blinked in surprise before facepalming.

"I've lost it, I'm talking to a puppy now!"

An attempted howl answered me.

-Sakumo's P.O.V-

I brushed passed the Hokage's secretary and went immediately to his actual door.

I knocked for the sake of formality but my hand was already on the door handle opening it before I was done.

I was lucky that no one else was in the room. Well, no one talking to him that is.

"Out."

Before I could blink, the two Anbu that had been stationed left at my word.

The Hokage rose an eyebrow, his pipe still in his hand.

I strolled up to his desk and he sighed.

I watched as he took one long drag before emptying it in his ashtray.

The smoke creeped out from his nose and I couldn't help but notice the wrinkles that have appeared over the years in which he had taken charge of the village.

"Well, go on with it," he asked leaning back in his chair. "What happened."

"I just caught Danzo intimidating my Niece." My voice was even but I knew that it probably wouldn't stay that way.

A hand rose and he pinched his nose.

"He has permission to recruit those that agree."

"She was Shaking!" I growled. "And Crying!"

I leaned my arms on the desk bracing myself.

"That Rat was not recruiting her, he was trying to force her!"

"Sakumo-kun," He sighed. "We force conscription on Clan children as well, Especially in times like these."

Times like these.

Times of War.

"She's my Niece, Call him off." I spat.

"She is not in a Team," Hiruzen said. "She is fair game, Sakumo-kun."

"Then put her on the most available team."

Hiruzen touched his temple again and I almost felt guilty.

Almost.

But this is about family.

This is about Reika.

Dry and Sarcastic Reika.

My loyal and determined Niece.

He's the Fucking Hokage he can make a team from random genin in the Corps and saddle them with a Random Jonin.

Bam, She's protected.

"I can't, Sakumo. Our Genin in the corps have their jobs for the war effort, and all the available Jonin I have on the borders and on the counter-attack."

"You are forgetting the other team which she came to be put on," I said.

I wasn't proud of it.

Not of the idea.

But it was the only thing I could think of.

"Sakumo.." The Hokage trailed off and I didn't have to look at him to see the shock on his face.

Never once have I ever recruit someone.

"She's only 7."

I swallowed the nerves and the guilt that threatened to spill from my throat.

"I know that." I looked back up and caught his eyes. "But if we don't do something now she will become one of those mindless drones Danzo calls soldiers, and I will not only lose my Niece, but my best friend and his wife will lose their Daughter and my Son will lose his Best Friend and Sister."

We fell into a silence. Both thinking about the idea.

His chair creaked and he got up moving towards the window.

"There is no saying that Danzo won't target her again." He told me.

I nodded trusting that he knew me well enough.

"He does run a division of Anbu."

"I know, but at least he will see that she has been put to good use for the village." I theorized.

"This also means that you will have a direct say on what she is given as a mission and so on."

Hiruzen turned back to me.

"As will you." He told me. "Since you are an Anbu captain."

I nodded.

"She will still have to go on missions, to keep up the act." His arms clung to each other behind his back.

"I know, but at first we can make her more of an apprentice then anything. Maintenance, data entry, and other work for the most part until she is strong enough to go on missions and handle sensitive subjects."

He sighed again.

"Biwako is not going to like this." He said to himself. "She was worried for that kid."

"It's fine, Sandaime-sama. It is me that is going to have to tell her parents when they come back."

Hiruzen chuckled.

"Good luck with that, Satomi might just end your life."

I shrugged.

"She will forgive me once I tell her the reason behind it and I'm sure Hizashi will understand."

We fell silent again.

"Are you sure you want to bring her in?" The Hokage asked me again.

I ran my hand through my white hair.

"Hokage-sama, I owe that little girl so much," I confessed. "More then you know."

The older man sat back on his hair and touched under his desk.

"She never gave up on me, so I can't leave her to his mercy."

His hand came back with a piece of paper and he placed it in front of me.

My throat felt dry when I read it over.

Anbu recommendation form.

Name

Rank

Age

Reason

Recruited by

My hand felt when I picked up the pen The village leader had placed beside the paper.

It felt like I was signing away her life when I wrote her information down

Reika Hyuga

Genin

7

My hand paused over the Reason, before that too I wrote down.

"I thought you would fight me more on this." I finally told the Hokage as I signed my name at the bottom.

He chuckled before taking back the paper.

"I've been watching that child since she Graduated Sakumo. She doesn't exactly hide her intelligence, nor her skills." He said. "Inoichi himself said that if she survives to adulthood, she will be a force to be reckoned with. He said she seemed to be a Ninja through and through, understanding what it meant from the first time she came to him, rather than grow into it like other kids do."

I shoved my hands in my pocket.

"So you were looking into her for Anbu from the beginning," I asked, and I honestly wasn't surprised. This was Reika. The people she calls her parents were both Anbu, her mother, like me being a Captain.

He looked over the paper, automatically checking to see if I had correctly completed the paperwork.

"I was hoping that it would take at least another 8 years before someone recommended her."

Me too.

"But since we cannot fix that now, I need to know your opinion on something."

I nodded.

"And what would that be?"

He smiled grabbing the pen and writing down a single name on the back

"I wanted to know if this person would be a good candidate to mentor her…"

"I think he would be perfect." I grinned before looking back up at him. "Wait, you are not deploying him?"

"Eventually." He replied before replacing the pen on top of the paper.

"Then what will happen when you do that?" I asked.

He smiled.

"Your other student has retired Sakumo."

I blinked in surprise once again before I bursted out laughing.

"Well." I wiped my eyes. "Reika is in for a storm."

-.-

Hi everyone!

I hope all is well, I started school back up last week and am already burnt out. But the good news is that, despite the fact that I have to be at school from 8:30- 20:30, I only have 2 days of school a week! Yay! but that just means I have more time for work and homework. -.- I'll try to see if I can update faster, but don't hold me to it.

So, I want to thank **cwrywn** for suggesting that I do some bits in Kakashi's pov. This got me thinking of how other characters saw Reika. And so Voila! I had actually been scratching my head on how to write up the scene with Rin's first kiss for a while now, and couldn't get it right in Reika's POV. Thank you once again, I bow before my muse.

So, I'm sure you all know what my question this time around is but I will ask it anyway. Who do you think will be Reika's Mentor in Anbu?

Recommendation? "Yeah, Kunai are cool but have you had dessert?" by **Authorship**. I found this Fanfiction really interesting. Whenever I read reincarnation stories the authors almost always(me included) immediately jump into the fray and want to immediately start changing the story in the only way they think they can. By fighting and proving that they can change things first hand. In this fanfiction, the OC is actually a Civilian, and through making dessert and making friends she is able to turn the course of the story. Throughout the story I don't think she's even slapped someone! It's an incredible read so give the author a look.

Thank you all for your encouragement. it means a lot!  
Ravenmocker6

 **Dark Rose Charm** , I can't promise I won't take off in Greece, but if I'm planning on finishing the story so you don't have to fear about that! I swear your stories are on my list of things to do/read don't worry! Thanks once again for the review!

 **ZDraco** , Well thank you very much, I'm glad you like it so much! I love her personality as well! Reika was my attempt at doing something different. All my characters are most often than not people that are always in control of themselves, are serious but kind. Reika being someone who cannot control her emotions very well and that doesn't take to well to being told what she should do, don 't fit that category. I'm happy how she is turning out. As for Ships, Yes I have plans, but due to the fact that I cannot decide which one I like more, I'm withholding the information. What is hard for the shipping is that the story diverts depending on who she ends up with. I will eventually be asking for everyone's opinion on what that means, but only when it starts to matter to the storyline. In one of the last chapters, I posted a list of people that are in her age group. You are more than welcome to comment on who you would like as her partner, it is fun seeing what people come up with.

 **Guest** , I hope you didn't actually die .. And so now Reika is being recruited to Anbu! Poor Reika, everyone wants her.

 **nitai** , That is very possible, you will just have to keep reading to find out what really happens.

 **taylor. denney2** , I do try, especially when I sniffing and crying, my eyes too wet to see the words on the screen.

 **Blackstarlov19** , Awww! I'm sorry not sorry~. Unfortunately, it was Danzo, but those were good guesses. I've actually been toying with the idea of her meeting one of those three in the next few chapters, any idea who?

 **GreyMoon. Huntress** , Thanks! Obito is one convincing kid. Love his stuff. He's making sure she believes that they are capable and that no matter what they will not let her go too far, nor will he let them get left behind.

 **Bored411** , Ding ding ding. Bored 411 gets a prize~ I don't see Root every leaving her alone. but with her in Anbu, she is even closer to Root. Like she is being dangled in front of Danzo's face but he can't grab her. At least not for a while.

 **Guest** , I'm guessing both comments were from you, sorry if I'm mistaken. Thank you for the corrections, I try to proofread, but sometimes proofreading 10,000 words isn't always 100%. As soon as I get a moment, I'll go correct it.

 **LuciiChaan** , the first thing I must say is... Thank you Google Translate. I'm sorry I cannot respond to you in the same language, my knowledge of Spanish comes from the similarities between it and Latin and that is all. I'm surprised that you're thinking along the lines of obitoxreika, not many people comment about those two so it is refreshing to see a new pairing. Whether Neji appears or not is a bit complicated. I'm currently in the middle of deciding which way I want Reika's life to play out, but depending on the way I go it is going to majorly change a lot of things. for example, it will change if Neji plays a part in the story, and what is her pairing. send over any ideas you have if you want, I'm always up for different opinions. Thank you for the review!


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25- My Introduction for Their Protection.

"Try It again Sunshine," I said sitting on a log.

Sighing, he went through the hand seals once again and another log appeared in a puff of grey smoke.

"Ouch!"

I tried not to crackle as he landed on his back.

So much for the Uchiha being close to cats. Obito has, not once, landed on his feet.

Failing, I grinned looking around the graveyard of logs.

This boy was single-handedly destroying the forest. That I could promise you.

"Not bad, at least it wasn't on your head this time."

He glared before I threw him a water bottle.

"Take a break, then we can switch drills," I told him.

"But I want to get this down before I switch." He gasped before taking another swing of his water.

"Oi! Little sips."

He rolled his eyes and I ignored it. He was clearly frustrated with not getting the jutsu down within a record time.

"Anyway, it will be good to switch it up a bit. Working too much on one technique will blind you of your problems."

"You are such a mother hen." He muttered under his breath.

My eye twitched.

"A what?" I asked.

He looked to the treeline innocently.

"Oh look, here comes Rin!" he called getting up.

As if I would fall for that.

I was just about to call his bluff when a yell caught me off guard, making me turn around.

"Hey, guys!"

A large grin was spread on Anko's face, her purple hair spiked up in her pony-tail.

Behind her, Gai was talking animatedly at Kakashi while Rin was dragging him towards us by the cuff of his armguard.

at Kakashi.

I snickered at my best friend's reaction.

"Shut up." He muttered, his eyes narrowing.

I grinned, not being able to let him live it up, and so he let out a small whistle.

Shit.

A loud woof was the only warning I had as a small pack of dogs came barreling into me.

My breath left my body as Bull tackled my gut, taking me to the ground. Almost instantly His dogs maneuvered as planned, Shiba and Biskue grabbed my sandals and tugged them off.

"No!" I hissed but Bull panted, clearly liking this plan of keeping me still.

I was trapped.

Almost immediately the two younger dogs started to lick the underside of my feet.

I cursed every god I knew in every mythology, and in every language, I knew.

"Shiba!" I screeched. "Biskue!"

I tried not to kick, in fear of hurting them, but they were making it hard.

Sophrosyne aid my self-control.

Laughter filled the forest as the little pricks I call my friends did nothing to help me.

Shiba made a big mistake going between my toes and I almost kicked him in the face as I screeched some more. The close call made the dogs realized that it was time for abandoning the mission.

Well, those two thought so anyway.

Bull huffed before keeping his weight on me.

"Off!" I groaned, catching my breath.

He whined at my objection and ignored me.

I laid my head on the floor, ignoring my traitor friends in favor of closing my eyes and fighting away the embarrassment.

That big baby.

A little pitter patter reached me before I knew it and a little tongue licked at my forehead.

"Thank you, Akino." I deadpanned. "I wasn't aware that my face needed kisses."

Almost immediately the puppy tried to eat my hair.

I pulled away again trying to scold him but he wasn't having it.

Instead, he nipped my nose for trying to keep him away from his new toy.

"Asshat!" I hissed jerking up, pulling a hand free and grabbing the throbbing organ.

"Reika-Chan!" Rin scolded.

I frowned, before successfully shrimping out from under Bull, despite his complaining, and caught the puppy with my other hand just in time as he lunged towards me. I held the pup away from me with a glare.

"Can't take the cuteness, Reika?" Obito laughed.

I frowned before turning and glaring at my best friend who just grinned, his mask pinching just slightly. What made my eyebrow twitch was the way his eyes narrowed in challenge.

I could definitely read the 'come at me bro' look in them.

And oh I will.

"That was most youthful!" Gai yelled, laughing and bending down to scratch Biskue's head.

I grumbled to myself before getting up, still barefoot, with dog slobber making dirt stick to my feet.

"Really?" I looked over at Shiba who held both of my sandals in his jaw.

He seemed to almost grin.

"I hope they stink." I cursed.

"They actually smell like dirt and your sweat." Kakashi's favorite Pug was near his owner, sitting back at watching the show. "It is a familiar scent so it smells good."

So much for winning that petty argument.

"What are you guys doing here?" I finally asked, turning to the ringleader of this posse.

Rin grinned as Obito came up beside me.

"Obi-kun told me that you were training with him today so I thought it would be fun to all train together."

I looked over to the ray of Sunshine and he grinned.

"That sounds great." He said.

I nodded before looking over the group.

Perfect excuse to check what level they were at and what they needed to work on.

"A most youthful idea Rin-chan!" Gai grinned giving us a thumbs up. "Then to get this training session started... Reika…"

Nope!

My hand immediately pointed towards Kakashi.

"Kakashi told me he wanted to see who was faster, You or him," I claimed cutting him off.

The Green beast blinked once, just as the satisfied expression on my best friend's face turned to horror.

"You should have just said so My Rival!" the future green beast yelled. "Let us see who can make it back here from the Hokage monument first!"

"Wait!" Kakashi approached Gai carefully. "I didn't.."

"Hey!" Anko yelled. "I want to race too!"

Oh, poor Anko…

"And Go!" All three kids took off, Kakashi growling my name.

"Karma is a.." I trailed off as Akino found a way to bite my thumb.

"You little…" I carefully put the pup down next to Pakun.

"You're alpha to this pack, you put the mutt in his place!" I growled.

Pakun looked at me bored.

"Kakashi is the alpha." He told me.

I jumped back, as the puppy decided that my toes looked good.

"Then as an elder member of the pack, deal with him!"

Rin and Obito laughed.

"What are you guys laughing about?"

I looked up to see the future Genjutsu specialist walking towards us, with her Saritobi Shadow close behind.

"Reika is getting chased by Akino." Rin giggled.

"Seriously?" Asuma asked.

I danced around the pup again as he tried to pounce on my toes.

Then my savior came in the form of one of my oldest comrades.

A paw descended and I looked up to see Bull pulling the brown menace close and laying his head on him, successfully trapping him. The puppy to whine in disappointment.

"Thanks, Bull," I said before looking over at Shiba.

Now if only…

"Nope." He shook his head, my sandals muffling his voice. "They are mine now."

I huffed but rolled my eyes. As soon as Sakumo found out, I'll get my sandals back.

Hopefully without any holes.

I looked back at my friends before sitting back down on one of Obito's logs.

"So?" I asked Rin. "Where does this great idea lead us now?"

She grinned.

"How about a pop quiz while we tree walk?" she asked.

I held out my hand and Kurenai gleefully put a large package of papers in it from who knows where.

History of the village.

Laws of the battlefield

Nature transformation

Yin and Yang chakra.

Policies of the Nidaime Hokage

A warm body settled in my lap and I didn't have to look to know it was Pakun.

Kohona standard hand signs.

I looked through a couple more papers, before placing them down beside me, allowing for the exercise to start.

The four leftover academy students pushed off the ground, running at the trees.

And you could probably guess the order of who got the highest. Rin, Asuma, Kurenai, and then there was Obito who barely took a step up the tree.

"Each time you get a question right, I'll give you a correction on your tree walking," I called as they slid down the tree.

Well all of them but Rin who, like Sakura, had managed to get to the first branch with ease.

I looked down at the log and grabbed a bunch of leaves that had fallen next to it.

No use doing nothing.

"Sounds good," Asuma replied before running back at the tree.

I stuck a leaf on my arm before looking up.

"Give me one institution that the Nidaime created," I called. "Obito."

"Kohona Police Force!" his foot slipped, the tree splintering beneath it.

"Too much chakra," I replied, adding another leaf.

I looked as Asuma touched his hands to the tree, giving him leverage.

"Asuma," I called as he slides down. He turned his head and looked at me.

 **Stop using hands. Concentrate Attention Feet.**

His brow furrowed as he deciphered the signs.

"I'm using my hands?" he asked.

I nodded. "By splitting your attention you aren't able to hold your chakra for too long."

You would think Hiruzen would have told his son that.

Another one of the leaves joined its siblings on my arm.

"Kurenai, Name all five chakra natures."

"Fire, Water, Earth, Lighting, Wind."

"You are using too little chakra."

I went on asking questions and correcting the tree walking until even Obito had reached the first branch and both of my arms were full of leaves.

My other hand brushed Pakun's fur as the little pug snored in my lap.

"Rin, Give me the consequence of deserting your comrades, without justification, in the middle of a battle."

"Death."

I snorted in irony.

What an Archaic practice. Back in my old world, the most militaristic society in history, The Spartans, didn't practice that so often. They just bullied them until they regained their honor, in battle once again.

One of my favorite quotes from Spartan history was when a man had come home to his mother without his shield, as in ancient warfare if you are going to run the first thing you want to drop is your 30 pound shield, therefore she bared her lower-half to him asking "Do you want to climb back up there too?"

I tried not to snicker at the thought as I asked another question.

"Sunshine!" I opened my mouth to call the question when a very tired genin plopped down next to me.

"I hate you," Kakashi growled. I looked down to the ground, where the rest of the dogs had ended up migrating to nap.

Gai landed next to him, hitting the ground, tears running down his face.

"Your speed is most youthful, my rival!" he huffed. "I cannot beat you."

He paused.

"Yet!" he went to his knees and raised his arms. "But I will! In my loss, I will do 200 pushups!"

I frowned before looking over at Bull who had finally let go of the puppy who was busying himself with trying to hunt a stick. He got up and pushed himself into Gai, making him fall onto his face.

"Ouf!"

"You will not." I told him. "all three of you will walk it off then drink some water before slowly easing yourself into training."

The hyperactive boy looked over at me, glaring slightly.

"Reika-chan, I know you care for us, but you must stop with the Mother Ducking, or we will never get stronger!"

My mouth fell open at his comment and everyone went silent.

A giggle caused my brow to twitch.

"A mother Duck?" I asked him.

Thud.

"Ouch!" Obito laughed despite being hit with the stick that I threw.

"That is so true!" Rin covered her mouth and tears were streaming down her face.

"And those leaves on your arms look like feathers."

I squashed down the urge to lift my middle finger and signaled to Bull.

The giant dog then shifted all his weight on the future green beast causing him to screech about being crushed.

I shook my head with a soft smile before another flop was sounded beside me.

"Now I know why you always push off the challenges to Kakashi." Anko cried.

I smiled before passing her my water bottle.

"Quack."

I took a deep breath reaching for a fist full of mud.

The thud then a hiss was music to my ears.

"Worth it."

Never change.

-.-

A week had passed since Danzo confronted me.

The many situations ran through my head, as I tried to figure out what move I was going to make.

Option 1- Take Danzo's offer.

Not a chance.

At least, it is my last option. I would rather try to kill him.

I mentally scratched out that option and rewrote it in my mind.

Option 1- Kill Danzo.

Option 2- Do nothing, but get stronger.

Again not a viable option. We can't get that powerful so fast. Danzo will come after me sooner rather than later.

Option 3- Tell the Hokage

If Sakumo already told me he can't do anything, why waste my breath?

Option 4- Somehow get placed on a team or apprenticeship?

Maybe? That would depend on whether the Hokage had enough staff to do that. But even if he did, they probably would go to the war effort. JUst like how Kakashi is often left behind while Minato took off to run messages.

Option 5- War?

Also a viable option, but that wouldn't keep Danzo away from the others and it would piss off a lot of people. And there is also the idea that being sent to the front lines would be almost suicidal.

I scratched my head. Looking up at Kakashi's ceiling.

Option 6-… Go missing-nin?

My whole body told me, no, but I sighed. That it might be my only option.

Suddenly I felt Sakumo's chakra fluctuate in the slightest, moving around his room.

What the hell is he doing?

I felt the urge to activate my Kekkei Genkai, but I knew Kakashi would wake up at the flash of my chakra.

I tracked him as he walked out into the hall and stopped at our door. It was open, just a tad. But it was enough.

I watched the opening carefully as if it would give me all of the answers.

And somehow it did.

His hand appeared inside the room and he motioned downstairs before disappearing.

That's odd.

Careful not to disturb the Genin, 4 dogs and the little shit of a puppy, I slipped out of their warmth.

Regretting it as the cold floor made my skin chill, I padded quietly and left the room.

Sakumo was nowhere in sight so I followed the directions and moved down the semi-creaky stairs.

I found him in the Kitchen bustling around making two cups of something.

The water hit the cups and I was surprised to smell the hot cocoa.

"Did something happen?" I asked, my thoughts immediately went to my parents and how they were still on the battlefield. Or Minato.

"Nothing bad." He stated before bringing them to the table. "At least not that really bad."

I took hold of the cup offered to me and sat with him.

"I spoke to the Hokage." He started before taking a sip of the sweet drink. "About Danzo."

The warmth of the cup became burning in comparison with the cold that had come over me deep in my bones.

"You had said that he probably can't do anything," I said, confused.

He nodded.

"He can't, so I asked him to put you on a different team."

My heart soared, and I tried not to become too hopeful.

"But again he couldn't." He took another sip. "There is too much to do and he is using all available personnel."

I visibly deflated before finally taking a sip.

It wasn't as sweet as I remembered but still good.

"So I proposed something, and he accepted. Although he was a tad reluctant."

Proposed something?

My thoughts went to Kakashi and Minato.

An apprenticeship?

"I will completely understand if you don't want to do it," he stated, his thumb hit the wood a few times.

He was nervous?

Why wouldn't I want to do it?

"What are you talking about?" I asked him. "I would do anything to get me out of Danzo's line of sight."

He shook his head, before grabbing his hands in his own.

"I hope you can," he gathered his breath. "I requested that you join Anbu."

My blood stilled once again.

This was no Apprentice.

"Anbu?" I repeated.

He nodded.

"I'm escaping Danzo by being put in a group just as dangerous?" I asked, my voice raising itself in fear without my consent. "I'm 7 years old!"

"You won't be a full member for another few years." He replied. "For the moment you would be an apprentice, of sorts."

I blinked, trying to figure out where this would land me.

Anbu apprentice?

It was never a part of my options, not something I would have ever considered.

"I'm not nearly good enough to be in Anbu." I hissed. "I'll die."

And it was the truth.

"I won't lie to you." He said, smiling sadly. "You could."

But despite the words, the emotions that were swirling in his eyes told me otherwise.

"But I have this nagging suspicion that you will get through it."

His eyes were full of both confidence and fear.

This man, one that was supposed to be dead, had so much confidence in me.

It made me nervous.

Nervous that I would fail to live up to his expectations.

"You won't die that easy."

I sat back, removing my hands from around the cup and onto my head.

Fuck.

"Reika, this is the only thing I could think of." He told me. "Danzo won't touch you if he thinks you are useful where you are. In Anbu, he knows your skills will be worked to the bone and you will be doing more challenging and useful things than delivering scrolls."

Yeah, killing people and doing the dirty work for the village.

I opened my mouth and the last thing I wanted to say came out.

"Okay."

He nodded his head.

"I told the Hokage that I wanted to explain the situation to you," he told me emptying his cup. "So go see him if or when you are ready and then you will know the rest."

"You are not going to give me any more information?" I asked him. I couldn't help the bitterness in my voice.

I understood where he was coming from, but it didn't mean I liked it.

I had learned my lesson. If I'm going to get involved in something, I'm not going to willingly throw myself in the same shit-box that I did before.

"I can't," he replied. "Only current or retired Anbu members know what Anbu is like."

But life and that fucking office lady loves to shit on me.

He got up and patted my shoulder.

"Make sure you get some sleep tonight, you have a big day tomorrow."

So, he expected that I will go see the Hokage tomorrow, That I will be starting Anbu tomorrow.

I almost felt like not doing it just to spite him, but I knew that I would never have this chance again if I messed it up.

"Don't feel too bad." He took his hand away and dropped his cup in the sink as he passed.

"You either." I finally replied but he didn't answer.

I know my uncle.

Kakashi is too much like his father. He feels bad about everything, even if it isn't always his fault. And especially when it is his fault.

I moved my cup to the side and laid my head on the table.

Fuck.

Anbu at 7.

I beat Kakashi's 13 and Itachi's 11.

I am both the youngest graduate from the academy and the youngest Anbu in Kohona history.

Shit.

I banged my head again before looking to the hot cocoa.

But do I really have a choice?

No, not really.

I gulped down the cold drink and placed it in the sink next to his. Then, slowly but surely I went up the stairs and went into Kakashi's room.

Sakumo's door was closed as I snuck into the room. Being quiet so that none of the dogs moved, I slipped into the bed.

With my forehead on Kakashi's, I felt his breath on my face and swore.

"I will protect you."

"All you guys."

A whine made me raise my eyes for a second as Bull tapped his tail.

"Shh," I whispered.

The dog crawled forward quieter then I could ever think and laid his head on my back.

He didn't make any more sounds, trusting me.

I love that dog.

I never thought I would say that.

I closed my eyes, but I didn't fall asleep right away.

No, my anxiety kept me up for most of the night.

But the last thing I did remember thinking…

Was what the hell are my parents going to say.

-.-

"Rei-chan!" the middle-aged man smiled as I walked into his office as if this was just a social visit. "How are you doing?"

"Fine and you Hokage-sama," I replied before looking around.

There was no one else here.

At least no one I could see.

I was tempted to activate my Byakugan to see my future colleagues.

He didn't answer back my question, and that gave me all the answers I needed to know.

"And what brings you here?" he asked cutting straight to the chase.

I pulled my attention back to him.

"Sakumo talked to me last night," I told him, stuffing my hands in my sleeves.

His smile fell and he immediately reached for his pipe.

Lighting it he placed it between his lips.

"And what did he say, Reika-chan?"

I took another glance in the corner, there was no chakra signature but I knew there was something there. Call it crazy. It was what my gut was telling me. My gut was always right.

"The only way you and he have found to remove me from Danzo's sight is to put me in Anbu." I recited.

He exhaled the smoke, keeping an eye on me. Obviously trying to determine what my emotions meant.

"And what do you think about that?" he asked me.

"Do I even have a choice?" I asked it might have come out more emotional then intended by the flicker in the corner.

"Humor me, Reika."

Reika.

Not Rei-chan.

He's taking me seriously.

"I hate it," I told him. "I don't want to do it, but if he stops threatening me, then I will."

I was honest, and held his gaze, emphasizing my words.

"Anbu works directly under me." he started taking another drag. "It is forbidden to tell others that one is in Anbu. And they obey no order but my own."

I stayed silent as he continued.

"Do you know what Anbu does Reika." He asked.

I nodded.

"They do everything that regular shinobi lack the disassociation to do," I replied.

That triggered something.

Mature for age.

Blunt.

Typical Genius

Desensitized by death.

"Inoichi's original description of me from my first kill," I said. "That is where you first got the idea to put me into Anbu?"

I phrased it as a question but I knew it was true.

He pinched his lips and chuckled.

"You shouldn't be sneaking looks at the doctor's files." He scolded but I could hear the amusement in his voice.

"I was curious." I shrugged. "And it is my file."

"I've been considering you for Anbu since you were born, Reika." He told me. "Just look who your parents are. Just your mother is an Anbu Captain."

I nodded blinking in surprise. Of course, that was it.

A combination of everything.

"But I had hoped to hold this out for a couple more years. Maybe drop a hint when you would have been 12 or13, but time seems to be of the essence this time around." He put out his pipe and he got up.

"I will need you to swear an oath, Reika." He said placing a hand under his desk and coming out with a box. "An oath that will bind you to the Hokage until you die." He opened the box allowing a brush with a small bottle of a red-almost black ink came into view.

For the tattoo. The Anbu tattoo was actually an oath in seal form.

"I will draw the Anbu symbol on your arm and your oath will activate it, sealing it onto your skin."

He didn't tell me it was going to hurt.

I already knew that.

"The seal will not only be a means of getting into contact with you via long distances, but it allows for other Anbu members to destroy your body once you die." He explained.

I nodded, knowing that I didn't have a choice about it whether I liked it or not.

I sighed as he took the bottle and placed some of the liquid in the tray.

"Your left arm?"

I undid my obi and revealed my arm to the Hokage.

It was almost embarrassing to be undressing in front of the leader of my village, but given the situation, I couldn't care less.

"For the first few months, you will be considered an apprentice. We have found you a few teachers that will switch with each other whenever they are in the village." He told me as the brush touched my arm. "During this time, you will learn about Anbu and the different divisions within it. Sakumo-kun and I have discussed a few Anbu members that are still stationed in the village to help with your training. But as they switch out with other Anbu that are currently at the border, these teachers will also change."

The seal took less than ten seconds to apply. It allowed him to move back and place the brush into the container once again.

"You can go ahead with your oath." He instructed. "Direct and to the point."

I took a deep breath before opening my mouth.

This was for them

"I, Hyuga, Reika.."

Asuma, Kurenai.

"swear that I shall obey…"

All of them

Gai, Anko and that loner Ibiki that only comes around when it is convenient for him.

"All orders you dictate…"

Rin and Obito.

"Without Question.."

Kakashi and the dogs.

"Until my last day…"

Sakumo.

"With utmost loyalty, I will never betray the Hokage's trust…"

Otou-san, Okaa-san.

"And through the shadows.."

But most of all, in the tradition of being me….

"I will protect Kohona's Children until my last breath."

Fuck you Danzo.

I almost gasped as the seal was set into place.

Gritting my teeth, I waited for the burning to pass. But it really wasn't that bad, nothing compared to the seal on my head.

At least this time it was of my own violation.

That I had somewhat control over this decision.

"Welcome to Anbu." The Hokage said. Leaning down and bowing to me. "I appreciate your sacrifice."

I almost snorted.

How fitting.

-.-

"Hokage-sama," I looked up at the one who spoke, trying, and failing, to keep the grin off my face. "why do you feel the need to punish me?"

A snort escaped me.

"I do not know what you are talking about, Neko."

This must be a joke.

"Enough, initiate." The man, while his mask was on his face, I could clearly tell who it was.

"Yes, Sensei." I almost rolled my eyes.

The man glared at me once again.

"That is true, Kushina-chan was saying something about asking you to train her a few times." the Saindaime hummed. "This means that you two will have no problem getting along."

"I do not think that is a good idea…"

The Hokage waved him off.

"I'm entrusting her to you for the moment. Show her around and write a report of her current skills. We will figure out what to do with her afterward."

That caught me for a loop.

'we will figure out what to do with her afterward?'

Our village leader then walked off, as I hadn't just been brought into Anbu not twenty minutes ago, turned the corner into the hallway towards the exit of Anbu headquarters.

"So…" I looked up at Fugaku, or rather Neko, and tried not to grin.

"Shut up."

I coughed into my hand, hiding another grin.

He sighed before rubbing his neck, obviously thinking.

It took a few minutes but the silence was broken.

"What did you get yourself into this time?" he asked.

I deliberately stayed silent, looking up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Well?" he asked again, getting impatient.

"You just told me to shut up," I sassed.

Oh my, getting under his skin was fun.

"Just tell me." He hissed.

"Danzo," I replied.

That seemed to make him freeze, but he didn't argue.

He must have understood. Actually, he probably knew exactly what Danzo was doing, after all as the future Uchiha clan head, he had probably been approached as well.

"Come, let us get you outfitted."

I followed his back as we moved silently through the hallways.

"Sensei…" I tried but he held up a hand.

"There are a few things you have to know about Anbu etiquette." He told me, ignoring my question.

We turned down another empty hallway and I filed the direction in my mind, slowly making a map in my head.

"First of all you address an Anbu by their mask with no honorifics, we are all equal in Anbu. The only ones we allow the use of is sempai and Taicho. Sempai being those who are tasked with training and initiating you into Anbu, while Taicho is reserved for the commander of each Anbu division and the leader of your squad once you are put on one." He turned once again and we reached a handout station.

"Did you bust your armor again, Neko?" the Anbu chuckled. I was surprised to note that the man had no mask on, his face fully in view.

"Not yet, Raion." He snorted. He tapped once on the desk and nodded over to me.

"We now have an apprentice." He told them and I almost rolled my eyes.

"We?" I looked to the side and concentrated on his face. His name wasn't Raion. I knew it from somewhere. "Apprentice? When the hell does Anbu take Apprentices?"

Neko shook his head.

"Now apparently. Wartime effort. Therefore she will be getting trained by whoever is on duty," Neko told the man.

Raion's swirling red eyes caught mine and I recognized it.

Yuhi. Yuhi Shinku. Kurenai's father.

Then Raion is his code name; Lion?

I filed away the information.

"Welcome to Anbu, Kid," he told me. His face was serious, but my future knowledge and his eyes gave away his thoughts.

As I was only a year younger than his daughter, he was picturing his daughter in my shoes.

"Make sure you stay awhile."

My eyebrow twitched at the words. I recognized them.

 _"_ _Hey Girly!" a big motherfucker whistled._

 _I tore off my shirt, before slipping my sports bra ontop my regular one, ignoring him._

 _"_ _This is your first fight right?"_

 _I rustled through my bag again for my wrist wraps and shoved my bag in my locker and locking it._

 _My eyes caught his and I raised my eyebrow. This is back when I thought that it was going to be like any other fight. Before I realized that it was for keeps._

 _"_ _Make sure you stay a while." His eyes took in my whole form. "I want to be the one to pound your body into the ground."_

Basically, it was a cryptic way of saying not to die. Though it was much less offensive then the last time someone said that to me.

I nodded, trying not to get offended at the idea that I might die.

"I need a standard pack for the kid."

Kid. Why the fuck do they keep calling me that?

"So what a small?" Raion asked.

Neko looked back at me.

"Make it an X-small."

I ignored the sense of pride that tried to get me to argue with them over my size and pushed it down.

My arms closed themselves on my gear tray.

"Thanks." Neko nodded before he silently drifted back down the hall.

I bowed before following him once again.

"Go get changed in the locker rooms, you are number 17." He told me. "Make it quick there is still a few things I have to talk to you about before I assess you."

My feet took me inside to an empty room with wooden lockers everywhere. There were no locks to them, but I thought nothing of it. Why the hell would a simple lock stop a shinobi anyway?

I took off my clothes and folded them into the locker. Then I placed the gear on over my mesh guard since I was not given a tank as the other Anbu had.

I guess they didn't have my size.

Once my armor was on I took a look at the sword that was issued to me.

It was obviously a Tanto, a poorly made one as well.

I have got to stop hanging around Ken'ichi.

I sighed before placing it on my back like Fugaku, I mean Neko, had it. My new pouched went next, and I took a look at the weapons in curiosity. Why give me a new set, when I already had one.

Kunai, shuriken, wire, bombs and soldier pills.

I shrugged before grabbing the mask and turning it over.

In the other world, there was such thing as stupid little quizzes online that told you about 'yourself'. One of these quizzes told you what Anbu mask you would where. I had given it a try once, and after getting a fucking dog. I had thrown my phone across the room because I thought it was stupid.

I looked at the blank mask in confusion.

"We don't have all day!"

I lifted my middle finger at the door, glad that he wasn't a Byakugan user and placed the mask on my face.

"I'm done," I growled opening the door.

Neko was leaning against the wall in front of me, tapping his fingers impatiently.

He nodded before leaving me at the door. I followed behind him adjusting the gear once more, making sure it fits properly.

It was a bit big, but not by much.

"Outside Anbu Headquarters, you are obliged to have your mask on when on duty, unless specified by the Hokage." He continued as we walked through more dark hallways. "Inside it is a different story. We all know each other, or will get to know each other, after all, we aren't more than 100 Anbu. Thus wearing a mask is not needed unless specified. "

He turned down yet another hallway.

"This does not mean that you are allowed to leave it somewhere. You never know when you will be called to have it on you at all times when in gear." He pushed open a double door and entered an open courtyard full of trees.

I followed him to the side looking around.

"It's really empty," I remarked. Fugaku snorted.

"Of course, there are not many Anbu left in the village at the moment, " he said. "They are mostly sent off on missions or at the border."

"They must be busy due to the war," I remarked.

He scoffed again.

"Yeah, right. War is our dead time."

I blinked in surprise.

"Deadtime?" I asked.

He nodded.

"In war, Anbu isn't deployed as often as in regular times." He sat down against the wall and I sat in front of him. "Anbu are needed mostly for stealth and secrecy. There is nothing secret or sneaky about war. It is loud and painful, and you need a big force during this, not small groups of 4."

He paused before motioning to the empty field.

"Thus the Hokage deploys the Anbu that are here to the battlefield as their selves and rank in that case. The ones that do go on Anbu missions go behind enemy lines or after deserters and almost never make it out alive."

My throat was dry as I thought of my mother, a swan mask on her face.

Is that why she hasn't come home?

Is she dead?

"Enough about that."

Neko brought me back to the now by holding up 7 fingers.

"There are seven divisions of Anbu. Stealth and info retrieval, Protection and Inside Investigation, Stealth and Assassination, Medical and Poison, Torture and Investigation, and Hunter-nin are all directly under the Hokage." He paused for a moment, probably trying to figure out how to phrase the next part.

"The Final division is Root, Danzo leads that one."

I gripped my right wrist in my hand, attempting to take away the frustration that plagued me when I heard his name.

"There is barely any interchange between them." He told me. "Once you are in league with the Hokage, it is very hard to change to Danzo and vice-versa."

Makes sense. The two leaders are suspicious of each other. Interchanging shinobi, no matter what the benefit would be, gives the other away into his organization.

"That's good news at least," I muttered.

Neko snapped his fingers.

"That does not mean that it is unheard of. Be careful."

I nodded, accepting the fact and continued to listen some more.

"Once your initiation, or apprenticeship in your case, is done you will be assigned to one of the six divisions under Hokage-sama, depending which one you fit best with. You will then be placed in a squad with various different people in other divisions where you will take missions."

I nodded in understanding.

"Good, at least you are able to listen I see."

I clenched my jaw, trying to keep a reign on my annoyance.

He got up slowly and I did the same stretching my neck. My instincts were the only thing that saved me when his leg lashed out.

"What was that for!" I growled flipping back.

"You're assessment starts now, kid." I watched in dread as his black eyes turned a blood red. "So first lesson. Expect the unexpected. Always."

"Shit."

-.-

I groaned, trying not to move my body.

It hurt like hell.

"Well, at least you survived day one."

"This time," I muttered slowly opening my eyes.

I was in some sort of clinic. My white-haired uncle sat next to me, in Anbu uniform, his mask on his hip.

"I have a feeling I am going to walk up here a lot," I told him, pushing myself up to a sitting position with a hiss.

"At least you still have a sense of humor." My uncle chuckled.

I groaned again and looked over myself.

"Assessment my ass." I hissed.

My nose was flicked making my eyes tear.

"Just because you are in Anbu now, doesn't mean you can swear, kid."

I rolled my eyes before my eyes caught his mask.

"Okami?" I asked him. "Really?"

He shrugged.

"They gave it to me when I joined fifteen years ago. They had no Inuzukas in Anbu yet, so they gave me Wolf."

I looked over my arms next, seeing various bruises starting to form near my armor. I was dreading to see what my ribs looked like.

"Neko really didn't pull any punches I see," Okami said.

I snorted.

"I think the only thing he avoided doing was breaking my bones."

"Look on the bright side, he said you did well." He told me. "You did well dodging, and getting in a few hits, and he said that you are good at repelling Genjutsu."

Repelling Genjutsu? Of course, I am. With my chakra sensitivity, I notice any disruption or change in chakra immediately. On top of that, I am a Hyuga. All I need to do is turn on my Kekkei Genkai which would allow me to see the blue tint of chakra manipulation.

I snorted.

"Did he tell you that, or did you translate it from his insults," I asked.

Okami laughed.

"You will do well here, kid." He ruffled my hair and I tried not to hiss in pain. The bastard had left a bruise back there as well.

"Anyway." He pulled back and looked at me seriously. "I know Neko gave you some basic information, but I need to clarify a few more things with you."

I nodded, ignoring my pounding headache and leaned into the pillows.

"Did Neko tell you about addressing other Anbu." He asked.

I nodded again.

"Good." He said. "I just want to make sure you aren't running around calling me Sakumo-Oji."

I tried not to snicker.

"Can I call you Okami-Oji?" I asked him.

He gave me a light glare.

"I wish." He snorted. "It would make me feel better than -taicho."

I blinked.

"You are a division commander?" I asked surprised.

He shook his head. "The previous Anbu commander died. The reason why I was sent back from the border is that I've been named the next one."

"Congratulations." I blinked in surprise before studying the man.

Just last year he tried to take his own life, now he is Anbu Commander.

It is funny how the world works.

"But there is another thing as well," He paused trying to find his words. "You cannot tell anyone that you are Anbu. If they work it out its fine, but we want to keep the know how to a minimum. Thus the Hokage and I think that you need a cover story. We really don't want the information that we have a 7-year-old on our payroll."

A.K.A No telling Kakashi or your other friends.

"What about a cover story?" I asked.

"Something to tell others so they don't suspect you are Anbu."

I blink as the story started to form in my mind.

"I know the perfect one."

I told him.

He raised an eyebrow in question.

And I grinned.

-.-

"I thought it would take a few more weeks before you would come back to see me!"

I followed Ken'ichi into his forge and we walked inside his house.

Just like the week before, we sat at his table with tea between us. But I was there for a completely different reason.

"I figured that I could do a shift or two a week," I told him and I wasn't lying. For this cover, I would actually have to take it seriously and learn fast to make it seem as if I really was learning the trade, not using it as a cover.

Ken'ichi studied me closely not touching his tea.

"So which one got their claws into you first. Hiruzen or Danzo?"

I froze before trying to pass it off.

"Don't lie to me kid." The old blacksmith growled. "I know this is a cover, so be honest with me. I may be retired for many years now, but both idiots still come to me because they value my opinion. I'm not dumb so your answer will entice my own.."

"Hokage-sama," I said taking the chance. so much for not telling anyone.

He snorted.

"Good. I don't like the idea of Danzo getting a hold of you, You wouldn't last a day with that mouth of yours."

It would be stupid to disagree. I was way too emotional to be detached as Danzo would want. I can't even control myself. With that in mind... Why the hell did Danzo want me anyway?

"So Hiruzen put you in Anbu to protect you from Danzo, eh?" He scratched his cheek. "Alright, tell him that I get you twice a week for the full day unless you are on a mission, and we have a deal. If someone asks for you at my place I will say that you are running errands or something else. But you better be serious about this, the days that you are here, you will be very busy."

I blinked.

"I didn't think you would agree so easily."

He shrugged.

"Danzo might be an old comrade and friend, but I trust him as far as I can throw him."

I bit my lip, trying not to laugh at the picture of Ken'ichi breaking his back trying to lift the other man.

"And Hiruzen probably expects that I know about this, so tell him exactly what I said."

I nodded before moving to get up.

"No." The older man growled. "You are going to sit down and drink your tea, it has chakra conductive properties, so you will heal faster."

I stilled.

"I've heard stories about what Anbu is like kid. I'm not an idiot."

I sat back down taking in the tea.

"Oh and Rei-chan?" I looked back up.

"Make sure you henge the bruises away the next time you go out. It's a bit obvious that you have been through the washer."

Ops.

-.-

I walked into the Hyuga district and down the main street. My shoulders immediately felt heavy with the stares. And I knew that if I turned on my Byakugan, a few people would be staring back at me.

That only brightened the happy mood I was already in.

Please note sarcasm.

I gritted my teeth and pushed on down the alleyway.

My path took me inside and up to my door before I went inside.

Back hitting the solid door, I looked at the ground taking the chance to look over what had transpired in what was probably the longest day of my short second life.

Anbu. I was now in Anbu. My alibi was set and tomorrow I start my first official day. Fugaku wanted to meet me at the lockerrooms at 7:00 am sharp. And for Fugaku that meant 6:45 am. If I was any later then that he would scold me.

I snorted.

The man needed to get the stick out of his ass, or at least get laid.

Speaking of Fugaku getting laid. He is married, so I wonder where Mikoto is. Is she pregnant yet? My mind filled with Chibi Itachi and I suddenly got a headache.

I blinked in surprise as I realized I had overlooked a very important fact.

I wasn't alone.

My front door had been opened. Looking at the floor, rather than just gazing into space I noticed three pairs of shoes. Two sitting properly on the side, while the other thrown.

I didn't need to ask whose they were.

"What are you guys doing in my house?" I asked as I walked around the hallway.

Rin was sitting on the porch with my cup of tea in her hands, watching Kakashi pin Obito to the ground in my yard.

"You looked down!" Obi yelled, trying to tap, but Kakashi ignored him, pushing him just a bit further.

"I give!" Sunshine growled flailing like a fish out of water.

"So we came to see you." Rin continued.

"Before you run off again." Kakashi looked towards me, clearly ignoring the other boy.

"Teme!"

I shook my head before sitting next to the girl.

Kakashi finally let Obito go, the black-haired boy flopping onto the ground.

"Freedom!" the kid muttered. I snorted in laughter before another body sat next to me.

"So why were you out of it today?" my best friend asked. "We saw you walking around distracted earlier."

As if I'm going to tell you.

I rolled onto my back and tried not to wince as my head leaned onto the new bruises that the training had given me. Or rather my arm was a bruise. That's what I get for being confident that I could loosen Neko's grip on my arm.

"Nothing for you to worry about."

"You know, that just makes us worry more, right?" Obito said, crawling up onto the porch.

A slurp came from Rin and I looked up at her.

She had this dopey grin on her face.

"Rin?" I asked. I reached up and poked her cheek.

She hummed before taking another sip.

"This tea is good."

I snorted once again before the boys looked at each other in confusion.

Kakashi shrugged before grabbing another cup fro the tray and pouring one for himself.

"No! Teme! Don't go to the dark side!"

Shaking my head, I hid my grin.

I would do anything

Anything to protect these people.

Anything.

-.-

Hey peeps.

Sorry for being so late. Home life hasn't been too great, so I've had a sudden lack of inspiration to do absolutely anything. I felt guilty for disappearing on you guys so i'm actually typing out this chapter when I'm supposed to be studying for my Intermediate Latin Exa worth 15% of my great.

Like I said.

Lack of motivation.

Anyway, Question? What do you think of my structure of Anbu? And what division do you think Reika will end up being categorized in and why?

Recommendation?Ghost Stories by **ViiA01.** This is AU where Sakura visits the abandoned Uchiha Compound with Ino and Naruto but gets pushed in an abandoned well where she meets and saves six Uchiha brothers who were sealed inside. Once let out, these brothers wreak havoc on her world. I found it an interesting concept and I love Kakashi and Genma's character portrayal. The characters are kept to their Canon personalities as much as can be and the interactions are fun. Check it out if you are looking for something to read.

Thank you all for the Views, Favorites, Follows and encouraging Reviews,

RavenMocker6

P.S You have all blown my minds. I'm up to 475 Favorites, 688 Follows, and 222 Reviews. Thank you all for supporting me!

 **Dark Rose Charm** , I'm not telling~. As for Danzo? When is he not being a grade-A Asshole?

 **littleclipp** , I can't wait to write the whole interaction between Sakumo and/or Hiruzen and Satomi. All i can say is that she may be an elegant swan, but she a Mama bear when it comes to Reika! I actually based Kakashi and Reika's relationship as how my best friend and I were growing up, so I don't this that would ever change. Kakashi will probably always be a brother to her. Really Kisame and Zabuza? I could see Kisame because he hates liars, and Reika is a blunt as can be (like you said). But you think so for Zabuza as well? Aww I was looking forward to seeing who inside the village you could see her with and why! **littleclipp** , your opinion is very appreciated, please don't feel as if you are pushing anything on me, I like to hear everyone's opinion and theories. Maybe there are things that they bring up that I never considered, and then I can incorporate it in. As for Homework? I'm a University Classical Archeology Student, Homework is my life. Also, I'm pulling attention to the Classical Archeology part of it. I completely know where you are coming from! Keep up the effort in school! It is worth it!

 **Levin Kluge** , Yo! Thanks once again! Sorry for the wait!

 **Bored411** , And here you are. She is in Anbu and doesn't like it. But it is better than Root any day! As for Danzo, He's not done. Just putting it out there.

 **Emily D'Lu** , Sorry for the wait! Family shit sucks!

 **Zdraco** , I'm trying not to make her over the top. That is why I'm trying to ease Anbu into her life. I could have easily been like; Yup, she's in Anbu and she's going to rock the shit out of it. But no. She will eventually get ridiculously powerful, but that will take time and lots of pain. Reika thrives when she's in pain and going through hardships. Her power will come from her pain, and she will wear it like a badge to tell the world that she survived. (Oh god the feels I just got writing out that sentence was totally worth it.)

 **GreyMoon. Huntess** , I figured I needed to give some lightheartedness to dilute the severity of the chapter and the consequences that result from it. As for Orochimaru? It will take quite a few chapters to get there, but it will happen don't you worry! I know right! Those cheeks! When I was writing about chibi Itachi I couldn't help but think of that as well!

 **KyraKuran** , A lot of authors focus on the idea of how cool it would be to have the ability to be a shinobi, being able to fight and do cool shit. But I always find that the best ones concentrate on the struggle of accepting that you are extinguishing one's life and the struggle that one has inside their own mind is key. A character is not supposed to stroll through a story. No, they are supposed to struggle, and cry, and fight, and yell, and hate themselves while loving others. I also think that the way I write emphasizes that struggle, with Reika throwing in her own comments on what she thinks. Reika has never been someone that could push something off. If something is going to happen, let it happen and she will deal with it and give back 120%. Thank you for understanding that I can't always slap out chapters, If I could, I would, but unfortunately, life is a struggle and doesn't let up for anyone. If you think of anyone else you would like to see her partnered with, let me know, I would be interested in playing out the scenes in my head to see if I could incorporate it.

 **Daffybart1** , I wish Sakumo could be in charge of her. Things would go a lot more smoothly that way.

 **Lina03** , Thanks! I try my best!

 **Lizyeh2000** , Nah Kakashi will not be joining for quite a while. And trust me when I say that he is going to freak when he finds out that she was in it all along.

 **Nicolaaa** , Thanks! Hope you enjoy!

 **Silverlined Phoenix** , I know right! I don't know why we don't get more people trying to save him! Or at least exploring his character. Saving him was a half-hearted decision and look where it landed me! He's amazing! Shikaku eh? I almost forgot about him. Hmm, I'm going to have to look into that. I'm going to be honest... Gai is not my favorite character. I find him too over the top. BUT, it is an over the top that works, so he gets to stay. When I came up with the whole duck thing I was trying to find a character to say it, then I remembered our Green Beast. I can tell you I was smiling writing that out. It balances out the worry for Reika and his over-the-topness.

 **Jazzmina** , Hello! Welcome to my Fanfic. like the avatar? I wasn't going to bring it that far. She knows basic nature manipulation in each element, but that is really it. The two swords are also very interesting, as an ex-martial artist she did do some training with one sword, so it is not too far from her. Surprisingly those other then Kakashi, Obito, Zabuza, and Kisame are the three characters that everyone seems to want to ship her with. It stumps me on why those three! I've also had one or two Nagato as well. Thanks! J'envoie des bisous du Québec, Merci!

 **Kayumeee** , Love you too... 3 Don't worry I was crying writing it, asking myself about a hundred times if I really wanted to do this. And I'm sorry in advance, but I'm not done... Muhahaha, don't worry I try to censor a lot of what I reply so that I don't give too much away. I don't want you guys to know what is going to happen before I even get a chance to write about it. And yes Gai is a very lovely Green Duckling.

 **ErikaaStef** , Hello! Imagine my surprise when I open my phone to check the review I got and realize that I can't even read it all cause Fanfiction deemed it too long to send as an email! You flatter me too much! I try my best, and Reika just seemed to flow out of me and trust me, I'm not like her at all. I agree with your anger, but remember that (at least in this case) The Hokage needs to have at least two other people agreeing with him out of his advisors before he can take him out. Until then, they wage war against each other. Don't you worry though, Romance will come later on... as will bashing Danzo's face into the dirt. That is true! Reika- Erika! Wow, I didn't realize that! Fun Fact!


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26- Abusing the Apprentice and Happy Fucking Birthday.

Apprentice my ass.

"I like this!" One of the Anbu snickered to his teammate as he dumped his clothes on the floor.

My eyebrow twitched as I scratched out his mask on a paper and placed it on them.

"An Apprentice to do our chores!" The other said. "The Hokage is outdoing himself."

Yeah, I'm an initiate but it doesn't mean that I was some sort of chore-girl.

The only difference between being in the Genin Corps doing D-ranks and being an Anbu apprentice seemed to be the amount of blood that I had to clean up.

"Welcome back."

I looked up as I finished folding a pair of pants and placed its clean mask on top to see Neko leaning against the wall behind them.

"Hey, Neko." The leader of the group said smugly. "See what we pulled in?"

Sempai 'hn'd' and nodded to floor below.

"I though Raion was walking a bit too fast for it to be anyone other than a captive." Walking forward and I grabbed another pile of clothes before separating the armor from the bloody, smelly, and dirty clothes.

"Yeah, we pick him up from the Iwa border."

Neko hummed.

"I guess we have our work out for us."

I submerged the new clothes in soapy water to soak before taking a rag to clean the gunk off the armor.

"Yeah."

The other two Anbu continued to chat with each other before walking away, probably to get some rest.

"Anyway, what did you do to get babysitting duty? I thought Hokage-sama would have sent you out already."

The Uchiha scoffed.

"Karasu has retired," he said and left it at that.

The other Anbu looked at him in confusion for a second, before he grinned.

I didn't hear the next words that came out from his mouth but I did see him chuckle and slap Neko's shoulder.

Curious but not obviously so, I finished up my cleaning placing the armor and mask next to the drying rack before rinsing the clothes out in the sink.

"You done?" Neko said before I realized that the other Anbu had disappeared.

I nodded before grabbing a pile of clothes and walking past him.

"I just need to put this in the locker."

My sempai followed me to the locker rooms waiting outside as I opened the 44th locker and placed it in the only non-messy area.

The male locker room was just like the women's but bigger, and just as empty.

But no wonder. Out of a hundred of us, there is maybe a fifth still in the village. And out of that 20, only 9 were in the building. I blinked as I scanned the building for chakra again.

Make that 5 of us.

I sighed before leaving the room and walking up to Neko-sempai.

"What chores am I doing this time?" I asked, half sarcastic-half serious.

He rolled his eyes before walking off.

"Be happy that the Hokage didn't send you face first into the fray." He told me. "These chores are saving your life. There is a reason why only the best are sent out as Anbu right now."

Okaa-san.

Is she one of the best then?

I banished the thought before it formed on why she hasn't come home yet.

"So put up with the chores and learn from the others while they are in the village. Use our knowledge and skills just as we are using you for chores to make yourself better."

He led me to the training ground and held the door open as we passed. "This way when you are sent out, you know enough to be able to get out alive."

I walked up in front of him without another word.

He made sense.

"Anyway, just letting you know that I'm finally being sent out." He told me.

I blinked in surprise.

"Anbu?" I asked.

He shook his head and shifted his weight, his arms crossed over his arms.

"Counter-attack."

Inhale 10.

Hold 20.

Exhale 5.

"Who is going to be in charge of me?" I asked.

He snorted.

"You'll see." He took a step back, obviously being vague on purpose, and found the hilt to his sword.

"Anyway, enough talking. Have you ever held a sword before?"

I shook my head.

He snorted.

"Then this is going to be fun." My hand gripped the hilt of my own shitty blade and I pulled it out, dodging his first slice.

"Now show me this genius that Uzumaki brags about."

Our tanto collided and I was pushed back.

I gritted my teeth and replaced my left hand on the bottom of the pommel.

The short sword felt foreign in my hands, nothing like I was used to. His sword slid off mine and he kicked me back.

I hit the dirt, but rolled into a crouch and holding the sword loosely in one hand.

Yeah, this is going to suck.

-.-

The next morning saw me looking into the closed eyes of my black-haired friend. He slept right beside me and I could tell from the heat on my back, that Rin was cuddled up me too..

Puppy pile indeed.

I pushed myself up off the bed and carefully moved off.

Why was I in the middle. I have no idea. Rin and Obito tend to force me into place, even if I was the first to wake up in the morning.

I moved around the small apartment as quietly as possible, trying but failing to be quiet.

The toaster popped and I unplugged it spreading jam on it toast.

A small moan distracted me and I froze, turning to the side and watching Rin sit up and rub her eyes.

"Sorry did I wake you?" I asked my mouth full.

"Meh." Rin yawned. "What time is it?"

"6:00 am," I responded.

"Why are you up so early!" She groaned flopping back down and covering her head with covers.

I chuckled.

"Apprenticeship with Ken'ichi," I told her. I took another bite, before strapping on the last of my gear.

"Ah!" she peeked out, only her eyes showing, Obito still dead to the world. "Your house tonight?"

"Kakashi still out on the training break with Sakumo?" I asked her.

I hadn't been around when Kakashi had left, but Sakumo had warned me that they didn't know when they would be back. It's been three days and I've only seen Sakumo's clones while he worked, organizing his new office and understanding his new role.

I watched her nod before turning over.

"See you tonight." She muttered before turning over and her breathing evened out.

I closed the door behind me and took to the roofs, eating the rest of my toast.

When I touched down right outside Ken's shop, I immediately started my chores. With Tsubasa's lighter, I lit a stick on fire and threw it into the cooled furnace causing them to catch.

Then I began to set up like usual. First was the inventory of the weapons that needed to be fixed and placing them in order of difficulty, with the harder things near the middle.

I wouldn't be touching those, as they were Ken'ichi's pieces.

The fastest way to trashing a weapon is to have someone other then the original maker repair it.

 _I narrowed my eyes._

 _"What do you mean by that, it's only a sword."_

 _Ken'ichi smacked me on the head with his dirty oilcloth._

 _"When you make a weapon a blacksmith styles it to his liking." He scolded. "After someone else touches it, they put their own input onto the blade and can cause imperfections in it. Also if the repairment is of someone with less experience, there is more of a chance that they will not adhere to the original design due to inexperience, making its flaws more apparent or creating a new one. Only apprentices should touch their master's creations, and only when they get their permission to."_

So again I don't touch them, yet.

"Good Morning Rei-chan."

I lifted the pail of water from the nearby sink and dumped it into the water basin.

"Morning Ken-sensei," I replied before filling the bucket again.

He popped his back, stretching as moved around finishing the last minute tasks like taking down his tools and placing them in hands reach to the anvil.

"What consists of a good weapon."

I looked up at the older man as he held two cups of tea.

So it was one of those days. A day where he would sit me down and lecture me about reasons why things are done a certain way or the proper technique to how to create a new blade from scratch.

Moving forward, I took one and sat on the ground.

A Good weapon.

"One that does not break easily," I replied. "One that is durable, and sharp."

He took the seat on the bench, as we waited for the kiln to warm.

"So what you are saying is that a good weapon is based on the weapon itself?"

I blinked in surprise and thought of it.

"No, a weapon is just a weapon no matter what it is, who made it or what it is made off."

My knuckles tapped the ground.

" _Oi, kid." I narrowed my eyes at the nickname and flipped off my teacher._

 _"Don't give me that." He hissed._

 _I crossed my arms and huffed, awaiting what he was going to say next._

 _"Stop trying to disarm me," he said twirling the wooden dagger in his hands._

 _"What is more dangerous, a knife or the person behind it?"_

 _Opening my mouth, I wanted to say the knife._

 _But I knew better._

"No," I told Ken'ichi. "The reason a weapon is good is primarily that the person behind it knows how to use it."

He nodded, clearly liking my answer. But he sent another my way.

"So my question is this." He took another sip of tea. "If the main reason a weapon can be considered good is the person holding it, why do blacksmiths work so hard to perfect a weapon?"

Why?

Shitty weapons would break!

I voiced my thoughts in a cleaner manner and he laughed.

"Keep thinking."

I took another sip of tea and did as he asked.

If a skilled user uses a shitty blade, the weapon would break, while if a shitty user uses a good blade, it would be a waste.

"There must be a sort of balance," I began. "The weapon has to reflect the skills of the user so that they could work better together."

He nodded.

"Exactly, it takes a good balance to be able to exercise the maximal amount of the blade or anything else."

I took another sip thinking about what he said before another thought came to mind.

"What about inherited blades, like the swords of Kiri's Seven Swordsmen?"

He hummed and got up to check the temperature of the kiln.

"Instead of the sword being customed to the swordsman, it is the opposite." He got up and stretched his back. I could hear the bones popping in his back.

"They will never be as good as the original bearers of the blades, but because they are trying to recreate the skills of the originals, the heirs become pretty damn good."

He shrugged before moving back towards the house.

"But they will never be something more then copy-cats."

I smirked at the thought of Kisame Hoshigaki or Zabuza Momochi hearing that comment.

Way to ruffle tail feathers… Or should it be fur?

I finished my tea just in time for Ken'ichi to return.

"I want you to read through these."

The books fell on the ground in front of me.

I took the first one and flipped through.

"Catalogues?" I asked, unsure I even used the right term for it.

He nodded.

"Take a look at your style and choose a weapon."

I must have looked like an owl.

"It will not do for a blacksmith's apprentice to be using a weapon other than her own."

-.-

A weapon.

I'm going to create my own weapon.

My hand held the pommel of my tanto and twisted it in my grip.

That day was spent looking through catalogs and catalogs of weapons.

It was almost….

Nostalgic?

Is that the right term?

Days and days of coffee and eyestrain. It had been so bad that I almost the fight ad my life due to only having run on an hour nap for the fourth day in a row.

And I could have stopped. But the idea of Athenian funerary pottery called Lekythoi was just too interesting to me.

Go ahead. Say it.

Nerd, right?

How can someone like me be such a nerd?

I flipped the tanto one last time before placing my other hand as I had originally been taught and lashing out at the tree in front of me.

One stroke and I could immediately tell.

"Standard my ass, this tanto is a piece of shit."

The line on the tree was not as smooth as I had hoped.

I would have to get used to holding a weapon once again, just like Fugaku wanted.

But which one was the question?

Nunchuks?

That's Gai's thing. And I will not copy him.

At all.

Tonfa?

Possibility.

Axes?

Way too big.

Swords?

I sighed.

All of these options are great, but there is one important thing that I have to consider.

I am mainly a Taijutsu user. I use my hands and feet, and I need them free so that can smash someone's face in.

I looked over the slash again. And sneered at the sprayed meat and chipped line in the bark.

And any weapon that I had learned in the past, was near useless to me now, my hands were too small, and shaped too differently to wield the same weapons.

They were not made to hold weapons, at least not big ones.

I looked down at the tanto once again and my eyes zeroed on into the chips in the blade.

Piece of shit.

I sighed, before planting myself on the ground in front of the tree.

Blowing my bangs out of my face I looked up, annoyed at my task.

"I need a haircut."

-.-

"Just the person I wanted to see!"

I rolled my eyes and broke apart my chopsticks, smirking lightly.

"Hi, Minato-san."

The blond took the seat next to me.

I'm sure he had a grin on his face, But I ignored it because I had better things to do.

The smell of soaking noodles and miso almost made my mouth water.

"How have you been doing kid?" he asked me, ruffling my hair.

It was hard, but with a mouthful of ramen, I took my first look at the future Hokage that supper.

He looked tired and surprisingly unprofessional. Bags decorated his eyes and he looked like he hadn't slept in over a week.

Vest open like he was too hot and his turtleneck sleeves were rolled up past his elbows.

Did he just get back from a mission?

This was the first time I had seen him since just after Kakashi's birthday. Close to a month and a half ago

I shrugged swallowing the food.

"Surviving," I told him, before taking another bite.

He smirked.

"Beside's that!" he chuckled.

I shrugged again.

"Not bad I guess, I took Ken'ichi's offer for the moment," I told him.

"His offer?"

Ah.

My eyes were distracted by the ink that decorated his hands.

He was working on sealing.

I almost snorted, I knew that dedication.

My hands used to look like that too.

"To become his apprentice." I reminded him.

"Oh, I remember Kushina talking about how he wanted to steal you from her." he drummed his fingers on the bar in front of us.

That was suspicious.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked.

He had that far off look in his eyes like he was scheming.

"You already helped him with his work before right?" he asked me.

I nodded in question.

"What are you getting at?"

Minato opened his mouth for a second before he shook it.

"Nothing for the moment, I have to think on this before I voice it."

I shrugged, knowing that I wasn't going to get anything out of him unless he wanted to give it to me.

I finished my bowl of ramen replacing it on the bar. My eye caught Tsuchi's and I nodded.

"One more Leek and beef ramen coming up!"

Minato chuckled next to me.

"You are just as bad as Kushina!"

I gave him a pointed look.

"She is my teacher."

His smile turned sad.

"You mean was?"

My chopsticks found their way to my napkin and I pushed the empty bowl away.

"Just because she doesn't have the official title anymore, that doesn't mean that she doesn't teach me anything anymore."

A hand found it's way back into my hair and he ruffled it. Heat rushed to my cheeks and I looked away embarrassed.

"You are a good kid, Reika." He smiled brightly.

"What are you talking about?" I jumped in my spot.

She grinned, amusement passing through her eyes.

"I got you good this time!" she crackled, sitting beside me and pumping her fists. "I'm still in the game."

I sighed before turning my head to glare at Minato. He smirked having known full well that she was out there and had not told me.

"Anyway, Does this mean you are going to retire from being a kunoichi?" she said, her face inches from mine and giving me a pointed look.

"No, Just when he needs me, I figure I would be more help with them then doing random jobs."

I know the other two picked up on the 'with no team' end of the sentence without me saying it.

"Good, so does that mean I can get a discount if I need my kunai sharpened?"

Her grin brightened, excited.

"Kushina-sensei." I gave her a pointed look and she visibly deflated.

"You are no fun." She stuck her tongue out at me and I ignored her.

And just like that out food arrives and the subject was passed.

"What did you say?" I asked bewildered.

She repeated but like the last time her mouth was too full to understand what was said.

"She asked what you wanted for your birthday." Minato translated for me.

Even after being around her for a year, I didn't always understand Kushina-talk.

I shrugged.

"Oh come on!" she swallowed another bite and pointed her chopsticks at me. "There has to be something!"

My mother.

I didn't voice my thoughts.

And honestly, I was surprised I was even thinking it.

I'm not some 6-year-old kid crying for their mother.

No, I was 32. Older than even her.

I held back a huff and tuned the adults back pushing away my empty plate.

"What about better mesh armor?" Kushina asked me.

"And why would I want that?"

She pointed at my arms which were bare.

Bruises littered my arms, bruises which I would normally hide with my sleeves. But because I didn't want my sleeves in my food they had been exposed.

"Oh."

Minato cracked first, but they didn't ask any questions, just started to laugh and continue to speak about what I could want for my birthday.

-.-

"You are surprisingly good at this."

I blinked up in surprise.

Neko never complimented me.

Never.

Rubbing the back of my head, I touched the new tender spot from where he had thrown me into a tree.

"Doesn't feel that way," I muttered getting up.

I let my feet shift as I moved counter-clockwise around him.

"Hn"

15

I took that as a go and slid back into a bush before hiding my chakra once again.

Not a sliver was let out as I pushed through the forest.

10

Twisting and turning I was careful where I touched down.

Every twig snapped.

Every mud pile stepped in.

Those were clues to where I had been.

It was things I had to avoid.

5

My foot pushed off a tree branch and I climbed up the trunk to hide in the foliage.

Not one leaf could be disturbed.

0

I felt when was the moment that he moved from the original clearing.

Because his chakra almost disappeared.

My bare eyes moved back and forth forever scanning around me.

A bird flew down and landed just in front of my face and tweeted.

Good.

If an animal didn't think I was dangerous, then Neko wouldn't find me.

A flicker appeared from my left and I watched him touch the tree before his Sharingan activated and looked around. Holding my breath I froze because I knew any movement would give me away.

It felt like minutes passed before a breeze came rustling through the leaves, allowing me a breath of fresh air before I had to hold it again. It was like one of those shitty proverbs or whatever.

Be one with nature, and you will never be found.

His eyes shifted away from the tree as he moved onto the next.

Bunding off, he declared this area free of any suspicious activity.

I tensed my limbs getting blood back into them, and waisting time, keeping a tab on his chakra as he moved. But that didn't mean that I ignored what else was around me.

That I learned fast when a clone of Neko had knocked me out earlier that day.

Once he was a fair distance away, I slipped out of my hiding spot and fell to the earth.

When stalking your prey, you have to keep in mind that the possibilities. It had not rained in a few days, so the ground was only wet in some places, so while not the best option, I took to the ground to follow him.

The typical way of thinking is that the best way to attack someone is from above. But what people don't understand is depending on where you position yourself, your shadow might fall on them or you might make a sound in the branches of the trees. It isn't easy being quiet when you have a million tree leaves and branches around you. But that is why I chose to be on the ground. The first place someone is going to look is up in the trees.

I crouched and slipped from tree to tree covering a bit of the distance and following my senpai.

A flicker of chakra had been slinking back into a bush, careful of the branches around it.

This one, probably a shadow clone, hid on the branch above me and I stalled again. Breathing only when the leaves rustled in the wind.

"Fucking brat." I heard him mutter before he slipped off again, and I tried not to smile.

Again I waited before slinking out, keeping track of both semi-hidden chakra signatures. No signature is completely hidden from me.

I stood behind a tree and slowly leaked out a bit of chakra.

A clone poofed into existence next to me and I nodded to it.

It moved just as quietly and carefully as me and went out in front and began to follow the chakra signature.

I had to ask Kushina-sensei about that later. What frustrated me the most with clones is that it sucks for me.

Like the copy, I could make my chakra signature disappear completely. To function the shadow clones need to feed off the chakra I provided for them. Thus able to be tacked.

"Tsk," I closed up my chakra once again and slipped off in another direction, moving around the clone.

It took a few minutes but Neko's clone and the original had found my clone and the memories came flying back to me. There was a total of three clones in the forest, and they were all combing the area to find me, the same amount as last time, so it meant that he never deactivated them.

I grinned and locked on the last Neko moving around the others making my way stealthily but not sloppily to him. once I was a good half kilometer in front of him, I slipped into a branch carefully. And automatically fell into matching my breathing with nature and slowly tensing my muscles so they don't freeze.

And then I waited.

It took him a couple of minutes, and once I almost thought that he was going to go a different way, but he slipped by me.

I couldn't help but grin at the thrill of the hunt as I dropped behind him.

Nope.

"Ow."

My back hit the ground and Neko had a kunai to my neck.

"I hate your doujutsu," I muttered.

He huffed, and even though I couldn't see his face, I could almost feel the smirk.

"Likewise."

He mentioned.

"Again."

I snarled but disappeared as soon as he let me up.

-.-

It was a first.

I laid back, looking up at the stars as the others huffed and puffed.

"How are you not out of breath, Reika!"

I thought back to Neko chasing me through the Anbu forest. Of Kakashi sending his dogs after me, practicing his tracking maneuvers.

"I have good stamina," I replied.

I opened my mouth to try and encourage them to do more physical exercise but was cut off.

"Quack."

I looked over and glared at Anko, the purple-haired shit grinning.

Rin and Kurenai erupted into giggles and I rolled my eyes.

"This was a good idea though," Kurenai said. "Camping outside, under the stars."

"I know right!" Rin laughed. "The best way to celebrate a birthday. Training and spending time with friends."

We were set up under a group of trees, our sleeping bags laid out near the fire, no supervision necessary.

"I'm surprised my father let me come," Kurenai replied. "He has been on guard now that the war has been in full swing."

"Your father?" Rin asked. "What does he do?"

"He works in T&I." I almost snorted as I thought back to Raion sitting at the circulation desk reading reports and signing off on stuff. "So he doesn't get into the action most times."

Not into the action? I wonder what she would think about him running down the hall to torture a man.

"T&I?" Anko asked, her eyes shining.

I snickered. The snake mistress is already rearing her head at the tender age of 7.

"That's where I want to work when I get promoted!"

"How about you start with graduating first." Rin laughed.

I smiled as Kurenai joined in.

"Speaking of graduating," Kurenai turned to me. "What happens after we graduate anyway. I know we are put on a team until we are promoted but I was wondering what exactly we do."

I hummed, watching my toes wiggle in my sandals, the cold making them numb.

"Well, like you know you are put on a squad of three others. One jonin and two other Genins, usually by specialization. From there you train together and take missions. Most of all to get a sense of how to work as a team and to get stronger."

"I can't wait," Kurenai said. "it's exciting knowing that we will be part of something big. Something that guarantees that our actions will affect the history of our village."

"I just can't wait to get out there and make a difference in the war," Anko says, twirling a piece of hair between her fingers.

"Are you really?" Rin asks. "Because I'm actually kind of scared. Of the war I mean, not the fighting. We don't know how this war is going to pan out. Nor do we know just who we will have to fight out there. Everyone is everyone else's enemy. There are no peace treaties between the nations. There is only war and carnage."

We don't know just who we will lose out there.

That went unsaid, but we all understood it.

"There is no saying who we will have to face and try and come out alive."

Involuntarily my thoughts brought me back to that night.

Maki, Ryouta and that Iwa Jonin.

Against Kushina-sensei, Tsubasa, Seiichi and I.

Out of all seven of us, only two came back. Alive that is.

"Reika."

I looked over at Kurenai to see her wringing her fingers nervously.

"I know this isn't something that you are supposed to ask but I want to know."

I raised an eyebrow in question, blowing my bangs from my eyes.

"There are a lot of things that you aren't supposed to ask people. You are going to have to be more specific." I joked.

"She wants to know what is like to kill for the first time."

I felt my whole body freeze.

"Anko!" Rin's voice was full of panic, and I could see fear written on her face.

"What? That's what she wants to know. She was asking me if I knew the other day too." She shrugged. "I mean I may not have killed yet, but I'm sure Reika has. Right?"

I exhaled the breath that had been caught in my throat and sat up.

"There is a reason why we aren't supposed to talk or ask about that unless the person brings it up first," Rin scolded

Anko rolled her eyes.

"Don't say you aren't curious, Rin."

Her eyes traveled over to me as I placed a hand on her shoulder.

"No need to get riled up Rin," I told her.

Kurenai looked embarrassed that she even brought it up, almost even ashamed.

"They are curious, and it is something we all have to face one day in our line of work."

I shifted and tugged off my sandals before crawling into my sleeping bag. The other girls did the same as if they were getting ready for a bedtime story. Even Rin, who was wholeheartedly against the idea, at least she said that.

"I'm not going to lie to you," I told them.

And I really wasn't going to.

This is our reality, and they had perhaps one year left before they were supposed to grow from child to adult. One year before reality really sets in.

"It was fucking horrible."

I don't know what surprised them the most.

My language?

Or my bluntness?

And no. I was not talking about this life's first kill.

 _I didn't remember how I had left the pit. My memories were vague and all I could remember is the word 'why,' someone repositioning my nose then stitching my side up, and an envelope of cash._

 _It took four tries for the key to slide in the door of my apartment. I closed it behind me locking it and pitching the keys on the other side of the room with a roar._

 _My knees hit the concrete floors and I crawled my way to the bathroom, gagging._

 _Emptying my stomach not two feet from the bathroom door. I held myself rocking back and forth and back and forth._

 _There was blood in my own mess._

 _Blood._

 _A knife entering into the flesh of her soft underjaw. How easy it slid in. Her eyes going wide before slowly turning dark. The aliveness and panic that was in them slowly fading as the blood splattering all over my face. Her grip on my own throat loosening._

"When you take a life for the first time, it won't be clean," I told them. "But it might be automatic, but it will be way messier than it needs to be."

They were silently looking at me.

"If you are lucky, you will have your first kill defending someone you love," I told them. "Mine was like that, this way you can justify the reason why you had the power to take that person's life is because they were going to kill your precious person."

Liar.

No, it wasn't.

My first kill was my own selfishness.

 _I vomited again, emptying more of my stomach on another part of my concrete floor._

 _"Fuck." I got up, holding onto the wall and let my nails scratch into it._

 _"FUCK." My first hit the spot next to it and it sunk into the gyprock._

 _"Why!" I yelled again, hitting another part of the wall. Instead of empty gyprock, it hit a beam._

 _A sickening crack and a shoot of pain told me I busted a knuckle._

 _I screamed again falling to the ground. Placing my bleeding hands to my face, crushing the palms of my hands to my eyes, curling into myself and trying to control my breathing._

 _It wouldn't work, and I would wake up the next morning, the whole room smelling like puke and blood and Six-thousand dollars in my pocket._

"Our first kill is the first time we experience how powerful we are. What makes us difference compared to civilians. It is our first taste of even though we are taught from a young age that we have to play nice with others, as a ninja, we no longer have that choice." I swallowed. Trying to find the right words. "We become hypocrites and we have to define what are our own standards. Who do we consider important and how do we confront the people we love knowing full well that we have the ability to kill people who are just like them."

I blinked, staring directly into the fire in front of us, distracting myself, not wanting to see their horrid reactions.

"Killing someone is easy. Your body knows the motions, that is why we train, and the event will pass fast."

"The coming home, and have contact with people who you could easily kill. To let down your guard knowing they too could easily kill you. To trust them not to kill you, and to trust yourself not to kill them. That is the hard part."

My fingers played with the ends of my sleeping bag, toying with the threads that came off it.

"But what you have to remember is that you are not alone," I told them. "When that time comes, you have to remember that these are the people you are fighting for, and that is why you will not kill them. These people have been in your situation as well, So they too will help you. And even if you feel like you don't want to tell them just yet if you are embarrassed or anything else, there is a reason why there is a Psychological exam you have to take after. The person assigned to you will help you through it, professionally."

A shadow fell upon me and I blinked up at Rin who knelt beside me on the dirt, her eyes teary. So I moved over so that she had room to crawl into the sleeping bag with me.

"But there is one good thing that comes out of it," I told them, hugging Rin close.

"And what is that?" Kurenai asked, her voice almost seemed like she regretted ever saying anything.

"Yeah, it sounds like we are actually getting the short end of the stick." Anko bit.

I couldn't help but snicker in irony.

"Your first kill not only grounds you, but it brings you closer to the people you care about as well as you end up developing your reasoning for why you do things."

"So the Will of Fire?"

I blinked in surprise as Rin spoke, sniffling.

"Yeah," I told her. "You develop your own personal Will of Fire."

Anko sighed and laid back in her sleeping bag, looking up at the night sky.

"Makes me worry a bit more about the war." She confessed.

"Then get stronger," I told them. "You guys have the advantage that I've told you to what to expect from your first kill, so you guys have to get stronger so that you don't hesitate. And when you have to fight, you guys will come out on top. So I don't have to worry."

Kurenai snorted in laughter, even though she too had unshed tears in her eyes.

"You are going to worry anyway, Rei-chan." She rubbed at her eyes with a smile.

"And why is that?" I asked somewhat annoyed, but even I saw the truth in the statement.

"Quack."

Inhale 5.

Hold 20

Exhale 10

"I am never going to live that down," I muttered, having completely walked into that.

"Nope." Anko popping the 'P'.

The girls erupted into giggles and even I couldn't help but smile.

-.-

"What's up?" I asked as Neko arrived at my clothes station.

He threw me a scroll and nodded to the door.

"Go to the Yamanaka shop and get Inoichi to load up the scroll with the things on it. We need to restock some of our poisons."

I rolled my eyes and finished folding the clothes that were there.

"Oh and Apprentice?" he asked.

"Yes, Sempai?"

"Go as yourself. We don't want to pull too much attention to a child Anbu right now."

I sighed before doing as he asked.

In my regular attire, I reached the shop soon enough before catching said man flipping the sign around.

"Closing at noon?" I asked him.

He blinked at me, clearly surprised to see me willingly talking to him.

"Yeah, I'm being sent out with my team so I have to close up.

Ah, so that is why they wanted to get the herbs right away.

"Do you want to come inside for a bit?" he asked looking towards the shop.

I nodded and followed him in.

The shop was empty, no plant in sight and no dirt either. It was successfully cleaned out.

"So how is everything?" he asked me moving around to finished piling some tables in the corner.

I shrugged.

"The usual."

He raised an eyebrow at me.

"Usual for you? Or for the normal person."

I tried to bite back a smirk and handed him the scroll Neko had given me.

"For me."

Inoichi huffed.

"What trouble did you get yourself into this time, kid?"

He unrolled the scroll and his gaze hardened.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" He whispered exasperatedly. "Anbu?"

He took a deep breath.

I shrugged.

"I'm only an apprentice," I told him.

"It doesn't matter. This is a bad idea!"

His whole face was white.

"Don't I know it."

Inoichi sighs.

"I hate war."

I snorted.

"I don't know one person who does like it," I replied.

Other then Danzo.

"Smart ass." He replied.

Inoichi went to the counter and reached under the desk, pulling out three scrolls.

He double checked the contents before sealing it the scroll that I was given.

I grabbed the scroll from him and placed it in my back porch.

"Thanks, Inoichi-sensei."

"Just take care kid." He told me. he sounded almost defeated. "And if you need to talk I'll be around. And It doesn't have to be behind a desk. I just hate seeing someone as young as you in a situation like this."

I smiled, bowing in thanks.

"I'll keep that in mind," I replied opened the door to his shop. "And I'll try not to throw a chair at you next time."

He chuckled.

"That would be appreciated."

I left the shop and began to walk through the market.

If Danzo had never confronted me, I wonder if I would have eventually been dragged into Anbu. Sandaime-sama had said that he had wanted to wait for me to be at least 12-13 years old before asking, so guess I would have had the option on whether or not I would have taken it.

I looked up at the bright blue sky, leaves covering the street in front of me.

If I didn't have to fight in the shadows I probably wouldn't have.

What about civilian?

If I had been born into a civilian family, would I have stayed a civilian? Or would I have become a shinobi either way?

A snort passed through my lips. Stupid question.

Of course I would have been a shinobi.

My whole life the only thing I ever did was fight.

I knew nothing else.

"Oi!" I blinked in surprise, looking around me. "Reika!"

My eyes caught a group of kids all sitting inside a teahouse.

And they weren't any group of kids.

They were mine.

But not all of them were there.

Surprisingly. There was only 5, and not all the usual ones either.

I nodded in hello.

"What lovely weather we are having Reika!" Gai grinned.

Despite the November chill, it was definitely a nice day.

"It is Gai."

Eyes rolled from beside me.

"It is just like every other day," Ibiki grumbled.

I shared a look with Rin and she giggled.

What woke him up on the wrong side of the bed?

"Aw, don't mind him. he's just pissed that I dragged him out." Genma grinned.

I looked at his hands, before the table, and then the floor.

"What are you looking for?" he questioned.

"Your pencil."

"Ha ha ha," he muttered. "I don't always have a pencil on me."

"Not on you, but in your mouth maybe!" Anko crackled.

The rest of us laughed at his expense.

"Just watch, as soon as I graduate I'm planning on replacing it with something else."

His brown eyes twinkled.

Reika, don't let your mind go there.

I coughed and tried to wipe the smirk from my face.

He's still a child, he didn't know what he said…

Rin bumped my hip with hers and grinned.

"What are you so happy about?"

"Secret plannings." She said, grinning.

I rolled my eyes as Anko and Ibiki got into an argument over what Genma was going to put in his mouth.

My eyes caught him and it dawned on me that he was messing with them.

"It's something long and deadly."

I looked away fast before I would burst out laughing and turned my attention back to safety, and thus Rin.

If this kid is like that at age 9, I don't know if I want to see him at puberty. That kid is going to be a heartbreaker.

"Rin-chan, May I ask where my rival and Obito-kun is?"

"Training," I answered for her.

Rin nodded.

"Really? Those two training together?" Anko asked with a grin. She sat on the table. Right by Ibiki and Genma drumming her fingers on her legs.

"Are they actually training or are they arguing?" The silver-hair boy asked.

I must say, it was odd to see the guy with hair. I would have almost thought that he would have been born bald.

It fits him better.

"Why are you looking at Ibiki's head like that Rei-chan?" Rin asked in the question.

I blinked but the words tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop them.

"I think he would look better bald."

Genma's head hit the table, his shoulders shaking, causing the table to slide a tad.

Anko lost grip on her balance as she leaned back and hit the ground.

I held my mouth and looked at Ibiki with wide eyes.

"Ops."

I could have heard crickets.

"Thanks, Mom." Ibiki spat out.

It was my turn to glare, my friends finally letting loose with their laughter.

Even Ibiki cracked a smile.

Giving them a very inappropriate finger. I turned around and walked out of the shop, heading towards Anbu headquarters.

"Bye Rei! We will see you at Kakashi's tomorrow!"

I raised a hand in acknowledgment, looking forward to the one night that week that I could be left alone.

-.-

"Oi, Apprentice."

I took a calming breath and finished closing the door to the supply room.

It took five hours, but the whole room was as clean and organized as I could make it.

Who had ever thought that Anbu could be as messy as pigs?

"Neko was sent out." He told me standing there with his arms crossed.

"Ah," I replied. "That's why he hasn't shown up yet then."

The Anbu nodded before pointing down the hall.

"Come on, I've got something for you to do."

I sighed again before following the man.

As long as it is not washing dirty underwear again that was fine with me.

If there is one day in which I don't have to wash underwear please let it be today, I didn't feel like dealing with shit-stained boxers on my birthday.

Before I knew it I was given a bucket filled with water and soap, a rag and a mop.

"When you change the water, go ahead and use the tap inside the room."

He left me outside and took off like the wind.

Cleaning a room?

How bad could it be?

I shook my head at his random instructions and turned the nob of the door.

Happy birthday Reika.

The stench of blood was the first thing that hit me.

The knob slipped from my hands and I let the door swing out with a creak.

I grimaced before swallowing the bile that settled in my throat.

I guess I should have wished for not having to clean anything instead.

My eyes took in the state of the room. Blood was smeared all over the wall that I was facing, the chains as well were full. On the floor there was a pool, with a smear mark like someone was dragged from it to the sink area. Blood and water mingled there before splatters were seen across the floor all around them. Like someone was trying to make it as messy as possible.

I swallowed once again before taking a step inside with all my cleaning supplies.

Happy birthday to you.

I closed the door behind me only for the handle to be wet as well.

Happy birthday to you.

It looked like straight out of a horror film.

My hands automatically went to the mop and wrung it out.

Happy Birthday

I was good at this.

Doing shit I really didn't want to do.

Happy Birthday

The mop hit the floor and I moved it repetitively back and forth. Mopping up the blood and rinsing it in the bucket before starting anew.

The cotton material hit something and I refused to bat an eyelash.

It was a severed ear.

I think this was the only time I would forgive myself for asking this.

But I wanted my parents more than ever.

Happy Fucking Birthday to You.

-.-

Kushina's POV

I was excited.

We had all decided that we were going to have one big sleepover for Reika's 8th Birthday. By everyone, I mean almost everyone.

Her parents were still gone, Sakumo and Minato left yesterday to pick up a team from the border.

So as the only adult, I planned the whole thing.

We were a total of 10 and four and a half dogs.

Rei-chan, Kashi-kun, Gai-kun, Obi-kun, and Rin-chan. The new additions Anko, Kurenai, Asuma, Ibiki, and that kid Genma. I swear if I have to tell that kid once more that chewing a pencil is not a good idea, I will cram it down his throat just to prove myself right!

And finally, we had Kakashi-Kun's four dogs and the puppy that, for some reason, kept running away from me. All I wanted to do what love him!

So we took over Sempai's house, cause he wouldn't give a shit anyway, Dattebane, and had a party.

The party lasted quite long, and I had spent my last mission pay all on candy for the little tykes.

Lesson learned Gai does not get free rain over the candy.

Enough said.

Now at the end of the night, I wasn't surprised to see that all the kids except Reika and Kakashi were passed out from their sugar rush, or trying to keep up with the kids on a sugar rush, aka. Ibiki.

Though I must say, it was fun seeing Gai-kun running around with the stoic kid on his shoulders, trying to keep a calm expression but nearly getting taken out by a doorframe.

I snickered to myself remembering it.

Anyway, Rei-chan and Kashi-kun were talking softly about a new technique that he wanted to try out. And I couldn't help but let my eyes trail her bare arms and legs. Sometime during the night Rin stole her kimono top and pranced around quacking.

I was actually kinda curious about what that was all about cause all of them began to laugh, even Stoic Ibiki and Genma finally spat out the pencil.

Anyway! What was I saying?

Oh yeah!

Rei-chan was full of bruises.

Not just the ones that Minato and I saw a few weeks ago at Ichiraku, but there was some on her cheek and her neck as well.

They were light and had been mostly healed by medical ninjutsu but I recognized them.

Other people, especially the kids would not know what they were.

But I recognized them well enough.

She yawns, causing for Kakashi to do the same.

"We should probably head to bed." She grinned. "Tonight was fun."

I love that smile. The smile she showed without realizing. The one that actually showed that she was a kid rather than a seasoned Ninja.

"You're right." He snatched his blanket out from Obi-Kun's grasp, whom surprisingly never woke up, and draped it over himself.

"Reika?" I called from the door.

She looked up surprised, her eyes looking at me in question.

I nodded to the kitchen and she got up off the floor to follow me.

We moved to the backyard and I closed the door.

"What's up Sensei?" she asked sitting next to me.

"You know you can just call me Kushina now," I told her.

She shrugged once again.

"Just because you are no longer my sensei officially, it doesn't mean I'm going to stop learning things from you." She commented, just like what she told Minato.

I smiled into the darkness before retrieving a special something from my back pocket.

"So what is the matter?" she asked. "You are never this quiet."

As perceptive as ever.

"I don't think I'm very good with words, and you know that," I said scratching my head. "Minato has always been the better at saying this stuff but I know I need to do it."

I turned the frame over and without looking at it I gave it to my ex-pupil.

Her face went from confusion, to shock, to sadness.

"I didn't want to give it to you on your birthday, but I knew that if I kept putting it off, I would never give it to you."

Her hand raised itself as she studied the photo, memorizing it.

I know what she was doing because I had done the same thing when I had officially made the copies.

It has been over a year that I had the photos, but I had kept forgetting to give them to the team. Now the 'team' consisted of Reika and me.

Today pretty much marked five and a half months that our boys were dead. And every day I had taken the time to study the photo, so I knew it by heart.

I stood in the back of the three making a peace sign to the camera, with my usual grin.

Tsubasa was on the right of me, with his arms crossed, his sunglasses reflecting the camera's flash. Reika was in the middle as the smallest, with a smirk on her face. Back then I had no idea what that smirk had meant. Now? I knew it was because she had a plan in motion.

Beside her, and to my left, was Seiichi. His eyes were a bit too wide, his mouth in the middle of changing from a smile to a yelp.

I had only found out after the photo was taken and printed, that Reika had apparently pinched him. Why? Probably because the Blueberry had been just so easy to bug.

"Thank you, Sensei." She whispered placing the frame on her lap, studying it intently.

I draped an arm around her and pulled her into my side.

"No. Thank you, for surviving." I whispered, giving her a kiss on the forehead, right on her seal.

A seal I so badly want to take off, but swore to never do. "And Happy 8th Birthday."

I got up forcing my feet to move and leaving her to her emotions.

As I laid myself on the couch which I had immediately claimed as Adult space, Kakashi perked his head up from Bull's stomach.

"Where is Reika?" he asked.

"Outside with her present," I told him, turning towards the couch's cushion.

I pretended I didn't hear the soft pitter patter of feet and the ticking of nails as they left the room to find the birthday girl.

Her friends could help her more then I could ever.

And right now, I think she needs them.

-.-

Hello everyone,  
sorry for the long wait once again, School. I'm sure some of you can relate.

I had a hard time with this chapter as well. Finding the right balance between the Drama, the reality of Anbu and humor was troublesome, if I could steal that word, and I still don't think I got it right.

So the question for this week... What weapon do you want Reika to have? Sword? Specialized Kunai? Axes? Tonfa? Bow and Arrow? Crossbow? Or anything else? Give me your opinion!

Recommended Fanfiction: Equinox by **silverfootedsteps**. I'm going to be honest... I've never really been into AUs per say, but this one takes the cake. It follows Sakura, a half-siren, as she moves into a small town where everyone is Supernatural like her. It's really fun, and the author gives different canon characters a species that sometimes surprise you. Oh and Kakashi is just adorable in this, so I can't help it.

Thank you again for all the view, favorites, follows and Reviews.

They mean the world to me,

Ravenmocker6

P.S. I'm so sorry, I'm rereading everyone's comments and seeing the dates of them and they are just making me feel more guilty... ops.

P.S+, **Edits Nov, 25th 6:00pm(EST)** Thank you **SandSaori** for letting me know about my grammar. Languages have never been my strong suit and i tend to mix the grammar of English, French, Ancient Greek, and Latin all together sometimes sorry! I also do not have a Beta to reviewing my chapters. (I actually don't even know how the Beta system works) I fixed what I could see right away, but I'll take a deeper look later on.

 **Bored411** , The only dog that may know is Bull, and bull cannot communicate verbally to Kakashi. He could theoretically pass the message through Pakun or something, but we will see. And as you can see by this chapter, Anbu is just peachy.

 **Dark Rose Charm** , Thank you very much for being considerate of me. It means a lot. Danzo will be getting it when the time comes, and it will be glorious...As for who she is with? The name has already been mentioned...

 **Girl-luv-manga** , Thank you, and we shall see about that. The kid may be smart, but he is not that smart.

 **KuShiMaNi** , As we already discussed this, is your vote still ObitoXReika?

 **FireandIce4664** , Thank you!

 **ShotoGun** , I'm sorry but that comment made me die of laughter. It might take a bit, but Karma will be delivered to them. You raise a good point and something that will come up again and again! If not for her attitude, there will be other reasons.

 **ErikaaStef** , Fugaku and dad jokes! YES! I want to see that! Cards and drinks on Sundays with Fugaku being a lightweight! XD. Thank you for the encouragement.

 **Megabyte97** , Welcome to my story and thank you for the comment.  
1-That is the exact reason why I wanted her to have it. I figured it would be a good mix, and since she already has a background in fighting and killing, this world would be the best for her. 2-Ding Ding Ding, Reason number two as to why Sakumo is still alive. Number one is just I didn't have the heart o kill him after falling in love with his character. 3-XD Sorry not sorry? You should have seen me writing the scene I was bawling my eyes out, I didn't want them to die, but they had to... 4- I love Ibiki. Honestly, ever since we meet him during the chunin Exams, he has been one of my favorite characters. Well I had written this Scene with Kushina and was about to put it in but I figured we would miss a lot between entering Anbu and her Birthday, so I had to wait to put it in. I also have a plan for Hizashi, but it is going to be a few a few years into the storyline. 5-... Gai?! Whatever you have been smoking... I want some! XD Wow! You really think so? I see where you are coming from though, but I will be honest and say that no it will not be him. unfortunately, I think Reika would end up strangling him. You can review all you would like, while some authors like having just a review count, I am genuinely interested in what you think, and depending on what arguments you make or things that you say may end up making me change my mind. I was actually talking to my Boyfriend the other day about this story and he said one little thing that made me change half the storyline. So don't be shy and comment and everything and anything you like, dislike, are puzzled by, it will help me become a better writer.

 **Jarjaxle** , Yes, do remember Hinata. And because you remember Hinata, do note that not all the Hyuga are assholes. There are quite a few that are very kind. But the others will pay in a humiliating way. XD

 **Kayna96** , Thank you I'm looking forward to hearing more from you.

 **Guest** , Here you are, sorry for the late reply.

 **Uzumaki D Narut0** , I hope the update also brightens up this week too!

 **GreyMoon. Huntress** , CHIBI ITACHI XD! Here is the next chapter, sorry for the wait.

 **Akagami hime chan** , Well she is technically the adult in the group, she kinda feels the need to look over the young ones. Oh, I'm should she would be. Or maybe she would pick up the kid, hold him out as far as possible and glare at him as he makes farting noises. It would be cute. But fear not, soon chibis will be arriving soon!


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27- The Imminent Future.

"Neko said you were retired," I asked looking up at the black-haired women. She was in full Anbu uniform. Her Hitai-ate on her forehead and wrapped around her loose hair.

"I am." She replied, her black eyes studied me.

Karasu.

A.k.a Mikoto Uchiha.

Why didn't I see it before?

"Why are you retired?" I asked before I could stop myself.

She lifted her hand to her mouth and her eyes shined, clearly amused.

Happy. This Mikoto was a happy person.

"Neko definitely was not joking when he said you were blunt."

I rolled my eyes, before crossing my arms over my chest.

Fugaku? Joking?

"It is unusual for people to retire when a war is raging," I continued. "And if you really are retired, why are you here?"

I had to know. This was too strange to be anything else.

"I'm pregnant."

Eh?

My eyes blinked and I was tempted to turn on my Byakugan to confirm the statement. Not a good idea, I decided. Even if I had been studying under her husband for the past few months, I was still a stranger to her.

"So since I am not able to fight. Hokage-sama asked me to train you instead."

So that the others can be called out went unsaid.

I nodded, understanding, but I kept my eyes on her stomach.

Itachi.

"Makes sense. It's nice to meet you, Karasu." I accepted.

Chibi-Itachi is coming.

"How long until he is born?" My mouth said without my permission. But what was even more surprising, was that I couldn't remember was my favorite character's birthday was.

"He?" she asked, her eyes curious.

Shit.

"A feeling," I replied vaguely, but still looked at her expectedly.

"June." She replied, a smile on her lips.

Why was this amusing to her…

There were five months before Itachi is born.

A tingle of excitement rushed through me, at the thought.

"Will I be able to meet him?" I asked. The words really were beyond me. I just couldn't stop myself.

She blinked in surprise before she laughed some more.

"We will see."

That comment brought me back to the present. Training, so that I can be used as a tool for Kohona. Training, so that I can survive.

"I trust Neko gave you a description of my abilities."

She nodded, her happy face schooled for one slightly more serious. This was business.

"Yes, he did, but I will want to test them myself first."

I looked back down at her belly and the obvious not-problem.

"How?"

She sighed before her fingers went into a new position. One that I knew.

 **Shadow Clone Jutsu**

"Whatever happens to the clone will not affect me. Despite this, the memories will come right back to me."

I nodded.

"Kushina-sensei taught me that."

Mikoto blinked.

"Kushina was your sensei?" she asked me.

"Neko didn't tell you?" I had figured that would have been something that would have also been put on my file. She obviously didn't read that. "Kushina-sensei had introduced us almost a year ago to help me get the basics of elemental ninjutsu down."

Another laugh burst out of her. One larger than before.

"So that is why he was muttering about red-haired teammates and blackmailing him," Her shoulders shook and she whipped tears from her face.

"Teammates?" I asked and she nodded.

"Yes, I don't know how much you know about the teams formed around the Second Shinobi War, but the council had implemented that teams were to be made up of a Jonin sensei, one Chunin and two Genin. This was thought to push the Genin harder and bring them up to better fighting capacity at a faster rate." I listened intently, even with her shadow clone shifting her weight and backing up into the forest. Being used to Kushina's random attitude, my guard was up. "Neko was the Chunin assigned to Tsunade-sama, before she left the village, with Tsume Inuzuka and Kushina Uzumaki as Genin."

I blinked before a grin spread onto my face.

"That poor man. Both Kushina and Tsume?"

I thought back to the other pregnant woman, with her nin-ken at her side and puppies everywhere.

I didn't say anything about Tsunade. It would have been too suspicious if I began to discuss her without ever meeting her.

"I would have paid to see that!" I told her, yawning.

She chuckled and the sound was peaceful and calming.

Before my eyes could slide closed, I formed the rat hand sign and dispelled the genjutsu around me.

"Nice try, Karasu," I said, crossing my arms over my chest again.

She grinned before I felt the flicker of chakra from her clone above me.

Rolling away, I faced the clone just in time to duck under a kick. I sent chakra into a tenketsu point on her leg and popping it.

A whistle brought my attention back to the real Karasu.

"You are quick." She replied, drumming her fingers. "But let's see if you can dodge this."

I had a second to run through the hand seals before the ground around me cracked.

 **Replacement jutsu**

Another shadow clone broke through the ground sending her kunai into the log I had replaced myself with, her Sharingan blazing.

"You have two hours." The real Karasu told me, and I got ready to bolt.

"Survive."

-.-

I laid back on the grass relaxing in the wind, taking the moment to enjoy the peace.

The rustle of the wind soothed me and I concentrated on my breathing.

In the past, I had read multiple fanfictions where the OC had done this.

It was a very important factor in their plot.

But for the life of me, I couldn't think of a thing.

Plot.

How did I want my plot to go?

I just want everyone to fucking survive. That's all!

Groaning, I ripped out a clump of grass and threw it at the nearest tree.

But as grass does, it barely made it a foot away from my hand.

I settled for closing my eyes and huffing.

What does that mean?

I had to ask these question. If I didn't I would have no plan for what was to come.

What did I know?

That I wanted everyone to survive and to not have to go through their proper canon.

What did I not know?

How the fuck am I going to do that?

I was an idiot to think that if I help each and every one of my friends train they will be strong enough to not be touched by the war.

So what is the closest events that I need to concentrate on at the moment?

Obito, Kakashi, and Rin.

If I could get them out unscathed then everything will be fine.

Three years. I have three years to get them up to speed so that they will be okay.

I mean I already made my ripple with Sakumo, so there probably won't be hesitation from Kakashi.

I huffed.

There is a reason why I wasn't born a Nara... I fucking suck at strategy.

"Ow." I hissed as a body flopped onto me.

"Stop worrying already, Reika!" Obito said from ontop me.

"Teehee." Another weight settled onto him. "I doubt that is possible for her."

Rin.

Another weight.

"Woof!"

"Bull!" I growled knowing full well what was coming.

My sandal disappeared and a tongue licked at my ears.

"Off!" I growled at my friends but they only laughed.

It was times like these where I wished I had Tsunade's super strength. I thrashed around, despite being restrained.

"Ops."

Bull's weight disappeared, I had just enough strength to sit up. I looked over at my best friend and narrowed my eyes.

"What did you do?" I growled at Kakashi.

His eyes closed and he scratched his head in guilt, laughing nervously.

No one else dared to make a sound.

Looking around, I noticed my sandal on the ground. Next to it, Shiba looked quite proud of himself.

"Obito, Rin," I ordered the two on top of me.

Both sets of eyes stared at me like they were owls.

"Get Off."

They shuffled off without a word and I got up slowly, keeping my eye on my target.

"It wasn't my fault, Reika…"

Kakashi trailed off before his hands slowly moved together.

As soon as I launched myself at him, he replaced with a log.

"Get back here!" I growled at him.

He took off, the green scarf that he still wore, fluttering behind him.

"Nope!"

Plot.

Yes, I must think about the plot.

I looked at my sandal and picked it up, looking at it from different angles. Dog shit had been smeared all over it.

Inside this plot, I think This will be my weapon of choice.

Objective of the mission?

To smoother Kakashi's face in it. It will be great with his enhanced sense of smell.

Yes.

I like the sound of that!

-.-

I worked my shoulder, wincing as a shot of pain ran through my neck.

"I admit, Neko was right when he said your stealth is good." Kawasu had her hair tied back today. It ran down her back flowing with every movement. "But it is once you get caught that you need work."

Please. Tell me how you really feel.

I huffed and looked away, sitting on the ground.

"Don't huff at me," she said firmly. "You have excellent control over your chakra, to the point that if you don't move, it is not possible to see your chakra system even with my Sharingan. But it takes time to pull out that chakra."

Taking a deep breath I calmed my annoyance.

"So, what should I do?"

I hate this shit.

"Don't hide it all unless you absolutely need it," Karasu instructed.

"But if I do that I'll be found out!" I bit, clearly frustrated.

"Reika-chan," I blinked surprised that she called me by name. "I think you are the only person I know that can completely hide their chakra signature. If you let out a little, only really good sensors and people with Dojutsu like us will be able to see you."

I blinked in surprise.

"What?" I shifted my shoulder again.

My temporary teacher sighed.

"Hide your chakra." She instructed crossing her arms.

I did as was asked, and she closed her eyes to concentrate.

"Now I want you to let it out little by little at my command."

I nodded, though felt a bit stupid when I realized her eyes were still closed.

So I did what was asked.

"More."

I let more.

"More."

Doubt resonated in my belly but I did it.

"A little less." She told me.

Following instruction, I halved the amount, ready to direct it if needed.

"There." Her eyes opened and looked at me with a calculated stare. "I want you to memorize how much chakra that is. And when we have stealth training? That is how much I want you to use."

"But there is so much chakra there," I told her. I could easily make a shadow clone with that amount, or even do one replacement with it.

I stilled.

Of fucking course.

I need at least a certain amount to use chakra at whim. I was so concentrated on not being found that I did thinking that maybe it would be safer to have some chakra already at my disposal.

"That is the about as much as a newborn child is born with." She told me. "You have abnormally large reserves, easily chunin level. With that being said, I would have thought that, like Kushina, you would have a hard time with control."

She hummed.

"That's interesting how you don't."

I shrugged, trying not to make a big deal out of it.

"I'm a Hyuga, I have to have good chakra control."

She tapped her hand on her arm in thought before shrugging.

I already knew about my Hyper-awareness, due to my past life.

But I obviously didn't voice it.

"Anyway, let's take a break from stealth for a bit."

I sighed in relief and brought my chakra levels back to its natural state.

"Was there something you wanted to learn?"

I looked up, and I honestly never even tried to control my expression.

Kawasu smirked at it.

"What is it?"

"Shunshin!" I exclaimed.

Her hands found her hips and she looked at me clearly amused.

"Why that?" she asked. "The Shunshin is a basic technique."

"Kushina,"

Amusement transformed into a look of knowing.

"She sneaks up on you too?" I asked, assuming that nothing had changed and Mikoto was still her friend in this timeline.

"Yeah, she loves to make a game out of it." She pulled her hands up and moved into a tiger seal. "No wonder why you don't know it yet, she obviously wanted to keep up appearances. Anyway, let's get started."

She disappeared and I shifted my Byakugan on to locate her in the tree behind me.

"We use the Tiger Seal to focus chakra. It is the shorthand version of the Replacement jutsu without the log…"

She never got to continue when my name was called.

"Sorry for interrupting, but I need to steal Reika-chan."

A groan escaped me. Just my luck. I was finally going to be able to learn that blasted technique but no, the world fucking hates me.

"Minato-san?" I asked, my face went pale as I realized that I was in my Anbu uniform.

In Anbu Headquarters.

"Sorry to ruin the training session, Kawasu-chan." He grinned, and I heard the friendly tone between them as they chatted back and forth. They were clearly friends, and he knew her mask without even seeing it on her.

He knew.

Which also meant that Kushina probably knew.

How did they felt about it? Did they think I was too young? How did they know? Were they still in Anbu too?

"Hey! Reika!"

I blinked back in before looking up at the blond, who had a grin plastered on his face.

"Sorry, I was distracted."

He chuckled.

"I noticed. Come on, we are going to the hospital."

That woke up.

"Hospital?" I was on my feet and walking in an instant. "Who got hurt?"

"Relax, she's fine." Minato gripped my shoulder and I tried not to wince as it pulled at the strain.

"If you are bringing her to the hospital, that mean's someone is hurt Minato-kun." Kawasu scolded. "Of course she is worried."

"That's true." He chuckled rubbing the back of his head.

My eyebrow twitched as anxiety twisted in my gut.

"Anyway, go on. Reika-chan looks like she is about to burst."

That's an understatement.

But…

Her.

Is it?

I was about to immediately run off towards the hospital. Minato stopped me and pulled into headquarters by the back of my top.

"But!"

The blond future Hokage cut me off as I turned to follow him down the halls.

"You can't go out like that." He reminded me.

I looked down and for the second time, I realized I was still in my Anbu uniform.

"Oh."

He chuckled before he stopped in front of the female locker rooms.

I rushed in going straight to my locker and yanking it open.

"Wow!" I blinked my armor half off in under a second. "You must be in a hurry."

Another woman was in the locker rooms.

A mask still sat on her face, but I was able to notice the brown hair and hooped earrings in her ears. Her hitai-ate was sewn onto her long sleeve shirt, a crest that looked vaguely familiar on the back.

I didn't say anything, nor did I care who she was. I threw my stuff into the locker and flung on my regular clothes.

"You know its rude to not reply to someone who is talking to you." She reminded me.

"And it is polite to say one's name before talking to them." I bit back. Tying on my obi, I took out my pouches and started to strap them on to my leg strap.

"She has you there, Meka." My temporary teacher chuckled as she went to her own locker.

"Ha ha." The brown haired women stated zipping up her chunin vest. "She's still a rude little shit."

I disregarded that comment for concentrating on the next one that Kawasu said.

"Leave her be, you guys just got back so she wants to go see her mother."

I froze looking over at her.

"It is my mother?" I whispered, a grin spreading on my face.

"Her mother…" Meka looked at me thoughtfully. "The only Hyuga that came in with us is Hakucho-Taicho."

Swan.

That is definitely Okaa-san.

I rushed out of the room to see Minato leaning against the wall.

"Let's go."

It took us much longer then I wanted. And I had to keep stopping for Minato who seemed to be taking his sweet-ass time. Once in the lobby, I didn't stop to check what room she was in. Following her chakra, we went up to the furthest room on the third floor, immediately opening the door.

What I saw was conflicting. Anxiety picked at my heart at the sight of white bandages wrapped around her head, but her soft smile and the way she was leaning against pillows and the headboard, put me at ease. Sakumo sat next to her on a chair, a grin on his face as well. The hospital visit was a formality it told me. There was nothing majorly wrong. She just overworked her eyes.

And with that, I sighed in relief.

Both Jonin turned towards the sound of the door, and Sakumo smiled at me.

"Reika!" my mother smiled. Of course, my mother would have memorized my chakra signature, just as I had done hers.

"Okaa-san," I whispered back before approaching the bed. Maneuvering around it, I parked myself right next to hers settling into the warmth of her side.

I didn't mention the way her limbs trembled slightly as she wrapped her arms around me.

"Okari," I whispered, breathing in her scent.

At that moment even though there were others in the room with us, I didn't really care.

"Taidaima." She answered, with a smile.

-.-

"You know my clan won't like this Sakumo-kun." My mother scolded.

Said man snorted.

"Like I care. I'm not leaving both of you at your place alone while you are recovering." He retorted. He opened the door to his house and announced his arrival. The sound of nails greeted us. "You can take Kakashi's room, since the kids like the living room for sleepovers."

My mother sighed and she took off her shoes.

Next to her, I did the same. Flipping them into place in their usual spot, and greeted the pack.

"Be careful you four," I told them. "My mom is relying on sound to move around right now," I told them as if they didn't already know.

A late scratching of nails on the wood ran towards me, trying to slide to a stop, but the not-so-small-puppy slid towards me.

"Especially you, Akino!" I growled picking his somewhat heavy body up. His tail wagged and his tongue waved in front of my face, trying to lick me.

Bull barked beside me and moved towards my mother. I watched as he let her put a hand on his fur.

"Bull said he will stick by her so that she can know the layout of the house faster," Pakun said from Sakumo's own side.

"As long as it is not Shiba, I don't care," I told them, secretly glad that Bull was the one to offer. Always liked him the best.

"Oh come on!" The other dog whined. "I'm not a walking accident!"

I raised an eyebrow and looked over at my new shoes.

"That was Kakashi's fault!" he cried.

"You are the one who left the pile of poo there!" Said boy yelled from the kitchen.

"Enough said," I replied.

"And I don't get a say in this?" My mother frowned. "I'm not permanently damaged!"

I looked over at Sakumo and he rolled his eyes

"Irrelevant." He replied. "You did enough work to warrant getting looked after."

She sighed, not arguing with her superior.

"It's only for a few nights anyway. and it is closer to the hospital for your appointment next week to get the bandages off."

This led to yet any other sleepover, and when I say somehow everyone got the invite. I mean all the later-important people in our generation, sans-one person.

And somehow I was surprised that my mother ever let me stay over again after that.

It was Mayhem. With a capital M.

4 Dogs. One not-so-small-Puppy. Obito, Rin, Anko, Kurenai, Ibiki, Gai and Genma.

The only reason Asuma did not come was due to his father. As the son of the Hokage, he needed to be at home where he could be protected in case of an assassination attempt. Another one at least.

The night started tamely, I admit, with Sakumo making the four of us dinner. Then came the chaos in the form of Gai dragging Genma and Ibiki over.

"Reika!" he yelled pointing at me and making a fist.

"I challenge you to Rock, Paper, Kunai!"

I was never so happy to have learnt the Replacement Jutsu in my life.

Kakashi screeched his finger forward from motioning to something, also creatively a sign for kunai.

"I won!" Gai yelled jumping up and down.

"Won what?" Obito asked from the entrance.

"Rock, Paper, Kunai," Ibiki answered from beside me.

"And why was Kakashi playing that with Gai?" Kurenai asked as the girls came in after him. They knew not to knock by now. As Sakumo says, pack does not knock.

I grinned.

"Reika tricked him." Genma laughed, his teeth clicking against his pencil.

He still wasn't allowed to carry senbon between his teeth. Yet.

"Genma-kun." My mother said from the couch.

"Yes, Satomi-san?" he asked.

You know the face a mother gets when enough is enough? Yeah, well my mother has perfected it.

"What you have between your teeth, comes out now." She enforced.

"Yes, Ma'am." He squeaked.

We all started laughing at the red in his face.

"I'm not competing with you again!" Kakashi growled at Gai, but he ignored him again.

"Of course you will my eternal rival!"

This caused us to laugh once again.

"Oh come on Kakashi!" Anko cheered. "You're such a party-pooper!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!" Obito joined in.

"If anyone is one it is Ibiki!" the silver-haired boy growled pointing to the other.

Right into Gai's waiting fist.

"Hey, I won again!" he cheered. "Youth Prevails!"

Gai just Trolled Kakashi, and I loved it.

I clutched my mouth looking over at Rin before nodding to Ibiki. She narrowed her eyes lightly before a grin spread on her lips.

"What are you talking about Kakashi-kun?" She smiled sweetly. "We, including Ibiki, were just having a fun discussion on Rock, Paper, Kunai, when you decided to start arguing when you didn't win your round with Gai. You two were actually being the antisocial ones of the group."

He looked like a gaping fish and by the end of the argument we were once again piled onto each other arguing and elbowing each other. Obito the brave soul, being the one to start it all. Ibiki surprisingly being the second to join in, having been dragged in.

"You know." I heard my mother tell Sakumo from their position on the couch. "I think they become puppies when they walk in those doors." She remarked.

I agreed because, on more than one occasion, we end up in a Dog Pile.

Well, Puppy Pile in this case.

"I guess so." He scratched his head, laughing nervously.

"But hey, let them be kids while they can."

-.-

I don't know about you, but I used to wake up in a panic in the middle of the night, believing that I was late to something, or that I had forgotten something. More often than not when I had a concussion, but at other times it happened because of anxiety.

Well, I had woken like that again.

Killing intent swept through the house, suttle, concentrated mostly in one area.

I immediately activated my Byakugan, scanning the house before focusing on the kitchen.

"What did you say!" I barely heard my mother hiss.

It was quiet, but I could see her hands gripping the sides of her chair in anger. I would later find nail marks scratched into the wood that breakfast.

Sakumo was looking down, refusing to look her in the eyes.

"I.."

"Yes, I heard what you said, Sakumo." She snapped. "I just can't fucking believe it."

I had not seen that man look that guilty and worried in years. The silence between them stretched further.

"Anbu."

The hairs on my neck stood up as I listened.

"What gave you the bright idea that my Daughter would be better off in Fucking Anbu. She's 8 years old Sakumo, not even a double digit. 8 Fucking Years Old."

I could see the deep breath my uncle, the Anbu Commander, took and I pitied him. This was the first time I ever saw my mother angry.

She was terrifying.

"Look, Satomi." He said.

She opened her mouth to interrupt but he held up a hand.

"I caught Danzo talking with her. Though I don't think talking is the right term. She was terrified." Fists squeezed themselves into tight balls. "There was no way that she was going to get out of it in her situation. She had no team, no apprenticeship. Ripe for the taking. An opportunity to protect the village his way. To him, she was rotting away in Genin Corps, her potential being wasted, when she could be used towards the war effort."

She lifted her hands from her chair and placed them on her temples.

"And you should know, Satomi. I barely know anyone that chooses Anbu." His gaze softened. "They usually get dragged in."

To my horror, her shoulders shook.

"A Break."

Her voice changed octaves.

"Why can't she just get a break? She's just a kid!"

I almost snorted.

My break was called The Void. That space where I had to come to terms with my past. A past that will never come back.

And breaks were never something I actually like. They make me paranoid because I know something else is going to happen soon enough. I wanted to deal with it now. I hate suspense.

"I met up with Hizashi when we crossed over the border again." She remarked. "Her team."

I closed my eyes, before taking a deep breath.

"I wish I could take her away from here." She chuckled. "Hide her away from all the fighting. A place no one would find her."

Sakumo's face softened.

"Don't we all wish to do that for our children?"

She sniffed and tried to wipe her eyes behind her damp bandages.

"Satomi, if you keep doing that you'll just irritate your eyes more." My uncle scolded.

Closing my eyes, I focused on my breathing.

I shouldn't have heard that.

-.-

"Are you sure you guys will be fine?" Minato asked, Kakashi by his side.

I nodded.

"Okaa-san needs her rest and Sakumo-Oji said he would drop by to say I won't be coming in," I told the blond.

And that was a reality, but instead of the Genin corps like Kakashi would assume. Sakumo had more like ordered me to stay home, and spend time with my mother, while he would tell Mikoto that we've been given the day off.

"Alright, if anything we will be in training ground 7," Minato called. Kakashi waved over his shoulder, his pack of dogs following beside him, and Akino finally trotting after him.

Speaking of the pup, he should be speaking any day now.

And I wasn't looking forward to it.

I walked back in to see my mother at the table, using a sharpening stone to sharpen her kunai. It was a weird image. She was welding sharp objects, while blindfolded. But she made it work, and in this village? Why was I surprised?

I shook my head and grabbed a random book on chakra manipulation.

The day was calm.

Uneventful.

Eventually, we moved to the porch, with tea. Taking it easy, not saying anything, but basking in each other's presence.

It was Peaceful.

And perfect.

I took another sip.

This was nice.

-.-

My body turned mid-fall, twisting and I let my limbs spray out.

Kunai shot out from my hands, hitting against each other seeking out the tiny red bullseyes that I had set up all around my small section of the forest, so close to where Ken'ichi's shop was.

My feet hit the ground and I activated my Byakugan to see just where all eight of them had landed. There was only one miss, landing not a few centimeters away from my target.

"Bitch," I hissed under my breath. My feet brought me to the weapons, slowly picking them back up to try again.

"Reika!" Kakashi ran towards me, waving his hands in the air, sweat clearly pouring down his face, his mask damp.

Worry turned in my gut because there weren't many things that could have got him that worked up.

But he was smiling…

"Another dog?" I deadpanned. "Seriously? You already have 5."

He shook his head, but the grin stayed there.

"Tsume-san." He gasped for breath.

The Inuzuka compound was on the other side of the village. Of course he would be tired from running around trying to find me.

"We were training, and while passing by Tsume-san's house, she invited us in, but then she took us to the back where there were a few adult dogs there."

He took a deep breath.

"She's offering Dad to partner with an adult Ninkin."

I blinked in surprise, clearly not having expected that.

"Dad didn't want to raise a puppy, so she told him that he should visit every few days and talk with the other ninkin. Maybe one will want to bond with him."

His smile was contagious, despite his mask being in the way.

"Well, they won't be able to be summons since he didn't raise them completely. Tsume said that he could partner with one."

Summons?

"What's the difference?" I asked.

He gestured to himself.

"My pack will become my summons once I hit puberty, my chakra coils will be able to handle bonding completely with them and allowing them to cross over to become summons. Dad would only be able to have another summon if he himself raised the ninkin from puppyhood." He explained.

So is that how it works.

"So there isn't a dog summoning contract?" I asked him.

He tilted his head in response.

"What do you mean? The Hatake clan holds the summoning contract for the dog summons." He stated. "But the summons are chosen by the holder in the human world. As man's best friend, dogs are everywhere. Our bond with the nin-ken allows us to create the contract. During the contract, they are tied to us, live with us and age like us."

I nodded my head. I wonder if there was a dog boss.

"Now I get it," I told him.

Then reality set in.

"Sakumo-Oji said yes?" I shouted. "He wants another partner?"

"Yeah!" he grinned, his eyes shining and full of happiness.

I couldn't help but smile too.

Thank whatever deity is out there.

Sakumo has really healed.

-.-

"This is great!" I flickered back to the trees, then once more, landing right next to my temporary teacher.

The next step I took made me stumble.

"Wow." Falling on my butt, I waited for the world to stop spinning.

"And now you know why you can't spam the Shunshin," Kawasu said, with a small smile.

I looked away slightly embarrassed.

So that is why Minato created the Hirashin…

"Yeah, I won't be doing that again."

She laughed before she pulled her coat tighter around her.

It was early February and slightly snowing, two short weeks after my mother was back, but it was getting cold. Well cold if you weren't me.

But that might be a cultural thing. In Montreal, a few centimeters of snow wasn't any alarm for pulling out the big coats. I used to be that person walking around in thin sweat pants and a sweater in -10 weather.

I hummed watching the snowflakes float from the sky.

"Are you cold, Kawasu-sempai?" I asked her. She sighed.

"Before I got pregnant I was never cold." She muttered, her hand tightened a bit more on her slightly bulging belly.

"So it is all his fault," I told her. "The little one is being troublesome already."

She smiled and I stood up before stretching up to the sky.

"Alright, what is next," I asked. "I think I have the Shunshin down."

Her lips pursed as she looked over my shoulder.

"Do you now?"

Blinking in surprise I glanced back to see my mother decked out in full Anbu uniform, minus the mask.

"Oka…." Her face was tight and strict.

"Hokucho-taicho." I corrected myself and gave her my full attention, but sempai was the one who broke the quiet.

"So, Hokucho-taicho came to me yesterday after our training. We decided that it is important for you to be training your Kekkei Genkai, as well."

I swallowed my nerves.

My mother was a hardass teacher to begin with. Now I had to deal with her in Anbu-mode.

"I hope you haven't been slacking, Kid." I could hear the menace in her voice and I swallowed.

Shit.

"Because we are going to make sure you won't be brought back in a body bag."

One would think…

Hokucho-taicho=Okaa-san.

But that is furthest from the truth.

Hokucho was an Anbu captain. And arguably one of the best operatives we have in the village, if the rumors were right.

"Come, Initiate." Kawasu created a clone and any hope of coming out of this in one piece was shattered.

I'm going to be ganged up on.

My hands formed the tiger seal and I activated my newest technique.

Let the games begin.

-.-

"What?" Ken'ichi snarled.

I repeated my statement with a roll of the eyes.

"Seriously? You decided on a bow and arrow combo."

I nodded again.

"That is boring!"

This time it was my time to snort.

"Look Ken-san. I have enough close range with my taijutsu. Even my midrange is pretty damn good with kunai and my ninjutsu capacity. What I need is long range. And it either has to be a crossbow or a regular bow to maximize the distance."

"Then make a sword you can throw, and link a seal so it comes back to you." He huffed, banging away at a sword. I threw in some more coal and closed the hatch. My limbs felt heavy, and my ribs felt like I was slammed into by an 18-wheeler. I never realized just how good my mother was, until that day a week ago. And neither of them, my teacher and my mother had let up on me. I had just gotten better at dodging.

"Why a sword? If I wanted something to come back to me, I would have just said I wanted a Boomerang!"

He tsked before taking a look at the heated sword. He tilted it, trying to get a good look at it. His scared hand then submerged it in the basin and I watched the cold water bubble and overflow around it, steam moving towards the ceiling.

"Look. With a bow you are going to have to drop it in a fight if your opponent gets too close." He took the sword out once more before tilting it some more, trying to see if the crack was still there.

Nodding to himself he set it aside to finish cooling.

"Not if we anchor it," I argued once he was done.

"Anchor it?"

I bit back my smirk.

"What would happen if we anchor it to my wrist," I told him. "With some sort of contraption."

He tapped the anvil with his thumb and looked over.

"It would get in the way when you are swinging your arm around."

I shook my head.

"A short bow but all in a flexible metal with a folding mechanism."

He whistled before getting up and picking up one of the catalogs that he had stored in his shop for me to study. He flipped through it and looked at the designs.

"If we do this, the mechanism needs to be timed perfectly. It needs to be folded in a way so that it won't flip back and hit you in the face. And the bow will need constant oiling and care." He told me.

He got up with a groan and moved to a drawing table he had set aside.

I moved to him and he drew a short sketch as he tried to image it.

"Okay, but you have another problem." He looked back over at me before tapping the catalog. There were a few sketches of bows in use. "A bow will have to be secured properly to your arm and will stick out. You will have to press some sort of button or whatever to release it and it will have to move away from your wrist unless you want an arrow through your hand when you shoot."

He sighed, before replacing the pencil on the sheet and rubbing his temple.

"Why did you choose such a hard weapon?" He muttered.

I rolled my eyes.

"I'm not changing, Ken-san."

-.-

It was lunchtime on one of my rare days off.

I was looking forward to eating out at Ichiraku when I heard the voice of someone I hadn't heard of in quite a while.

Payback is a bitch.

My hands moved into the tiger seal and I reappeared inside the restaurant.

"Fuck!"

Minato and Kushina both jumped almost falling off the chair.

"Kushina-sensei, I'm only 8, you shouldn't use that kind of language around me," I smirked before taking a spot beside Minato and away from her.

"What the hell, Reika!" she growled. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

She hates it, but feels as if she can do it to us, eh?

"Don't feel like it."

Minato laughed out loud and pushed his bowl of Ramen towards me.

"Hungry?" he asked. "I can't finish my second bowl."

"Thanks." I took the chopsticks and shoveled the half bowl into my mouth.

Heaven, I tell you.

"So what have you been up to?" I asked her, pushing the now empty bowl away from me.

Catching Teuchi's eye I nodded and motioned for another bowl.

"The Hokage has me set up with the barrier team working on some sealing stuff. He thinks that just because I'm an Uzumaki, that I'm content with only doing the sealing." She sighed. "I wish he would send me back out on missions."

"I get you. All I'm doing is training, it is suffocating." I muttered. "And uninteresting."

Minato ruffled my hair and smiled.

"Hokage-sama wants to send Kakashi and me on our first C-rank together." I grabbed my bowl from Teuchi and placed it in front of me, waiting for Minato to continue. "Want me to see if I can let him bring you with us?"

Blinking in surprise, I didn't know what to think.

"Just the three of us?" I asked.

He nodded.

Kakashi, Minato, and I. This will probably be the last few months in which I will be able to do this. I take we have 6-7 months left before Rin and Obito are placed on his team and all hell breaks loose.

Why not have fun in the meantime.

Who knows what life is going to bring us.

"Can I come?" Kushina said, puppy eyes and all.

Minato hung his head.

"I wish!"

-.-

-Bonus Kushina's P.O.V-

 _My feet touched the earth just as my eyes caught the sight of my two students lying on the ground. And I didn't have to look at the blood to know._

 _"No," I whispered, my knees hitting the ground. "This can't be."_

 _My hand reached out to touch them, noting the ragged cut on Seiichi's neck and the bruises all over Tsubasa._

 _"No!" I cried again. this wasn't supposed to happen. This happens to other people! Not me! My hands curled up into my red hair, tugging and crying._

 _The feet that touched down next to me, I knew, belonged to Sakumo-sempai._

 _He was going to touch me in sympathy but he turned to the body propped up against a tree instead._

 _Reika._

 _From repetition, I knew exactly what was supposed to next as Sakumo approached her. My body waited a good few minutes before I almost tripped over myself to get to her._

 _But something was wrong._

 _This wasn't supposed to be how it happened._

 _"Reika..." I choked. I dry heaved, my eyes not leaving her._

 _My eyes kept staring into the bloody eye sockets. The place where her white crystal eyes were supposed to be._

 _Slowly, I drifted my sight to her mouth where she was muttering something._

 _"You failed us."_

"Wake up Kushina!"

I woke up thrashing. Minato's body was over mine over mine, tapping my limbs to my side.

"Reika!" I gasped. "Where is she!"

"Relax!" he urged. "She is sleeping on the couch. It's okay, she is safe. You are safe."

I swallowed, his face blurry behind tears.

"Get off."

He did what I asked and I flew out of the room.

Sliding down the hall I collapsed next to the couch, her form was still, facing the cushion.

My hands itched to touch her. To pull her close. To make sure she is okay.

But she is pulling away.

Does she blame me? For being a Jinchuriki?

Or is she blaming herself?

Was there something I could have done? That would have guaranteed all three of their survival. Even if it did not mean my own?

"Kushina." I looked over to the door, to the love of my life.

Oh, how he made me want to cry again.

The bruise on his cheek was new, I knew that, but it was darkening fast.

I got him good.

"Sorry Minato," I muttered.

He came close and sat beside me, pulling me into his chest. Forgiving me like all the other times.

"Maybe you should book another appointment with Inoichi. This is the third nightmare this week." his fingers trained comfortingly over my arm and I knew he was right.

How does he break down my walls so fast?

I make sure for everyone else's sake I bounce back fast. But he knows that its all a front. And with a few words, he shatters the mask I set on my face.

Instead, he does just this. He holds me close, rocking me back in forth, soothing the worry and anxiety. Then he suggests what I need to do to help myself in a rational way.

This man.

Pulling me up by my hands, he urged me back to our room and under the covers.

This man.

I reached up and brushed my fingers across his neck before up through the soft blond spikes as he shifts closer.

I smiled sadly trying to reassure him. Or maybe myself? My right hand cradling his cheek. Then I made the first move.

Our lips touched, hesitantly, but even then I could tell just how soft they were. Just like always.

He reacted immediately.

A sigh escaped him and his arms circled my waist, pressing me to him.

This man.

I love him.

-.-

*Waves*

I'm not dead... I swear...

Hey Peeps,

So I have a logical explanation for why I disappeared for over two months. Recently I got a few criticisms that made me think about how I was portraying the story and it made me rethink where the story was headed. So I took the time to solidify my outline for the story. For more info on the criticisms, I will be replying to them down below. If you wrote them, thank you. You are helping me improve as a writer.

So. To answer my question from the last chapter. Yes. I've decided to create a bow for her that anchors onto her so she can move. I don't know if it is physically possible, but if sentient swords can exist, so can this. (Yes, I'm talking about Samehada).

Moving on from this, my recommendation for this chapter is **DryBonesKing** "True Potential." Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru all under the Jonin-sensei... Anko. I think that is enough said. This author puts so much detail into their work it is unbelievable. One day I hope to be able to write like them. Now, Spoiler Alert. Hinata uses a bow in this. I am not copying her, I had the idea way before I read the story. (Do look at Chapter 8, I mention archery.) But it is nice to see that the idea isn't completely out in the dark. This is something I also took time to wrestle with during my break. How to use a long distance weapon without having to drop it in a fight. Anyway, Read True Potential, You will not regret it! It is long and will keep you entertained for a hell of a long time.

This chapter's question? Who is your favorite Naruto character and why? I have so many... but have always had a soft spot for Itachi. Such a kind person dealt such a shitty hand. My heart always goes out to him.

Thank you all for your support.  
I'll be back in touch with another chapter soon.

Happy belated holidays,  
Ravenmocker6.

P.S- Thank **Megabyte97** for the Bonus.

 **Dark Rose Charm** , Mikoto~. You can probably guess in what context she was mentioned, even though I haven't been explicit with it yet. You were so close! It is a bow, not a crossbow. At one point I was considering a spear, but I don't think she would be able to shoot as far as I want her to. Sorry for the late chapter!

 **Girl-loves-Manga** , she does know. I might eventually make a bonus chapter with her finding out. But Kushina sees it in her bruises. She recognizes them because she's been through them.

 **Bored411** , She will eventually get through it all. If there is something Reika is... She's a survivor. She may come out with a few scars, but she will come out. Yeah, these people are what is keeping her sane.

 **GreyMoon. Huntress** , So the whole quack thing goes back to chapter 25 when Gai comments on how Reika is like a Mother Duck looking after them like they are her ducklings. But I guess you can trace it back further with Seiichi placing the duck in the pit to prank the Hyuga bullies in chapter 18. Beware. There will be quite a few Duck references until the end of the story... Chibi's coming up soon. And both parents A-Okay. Happy holidays!

 **Megabyte97** , I hope the Bonus was more of what you were looking for!

 **Moonstars** , Thank you very much! Adults? I'm going to be honest. There are a few that you will, for sure. There are also some you will not, and others that will take a very long time, but you will. Hope that answers your question.

 **I'mAlsoAWe** , It took me a while to solidify the relationship. but it soon became apparent that those two would never be in an intimate relationship. They are too much like siblings to be anything else but. AS to who she will be with. Shusui is 5 years old at this point, so there is a possibility there if you want a 3 year age gap. But with Kagami.. he has been dead for over 24years according to my calculations. He died soon after the first Shinobi War and left behind an infant son, Shusui's father. Obito? That I will not. I admit that I toyed with the idea, but now that I have a solid plan, I will not. I like him too much... As for Neji, I will not spoil anything but even if he was born, it would be in about 5 years from the current storyline. Enjoy.

Alright. So I am assuming that the next few Guest Reviews are the same person so I will make taking them as such. First of all, **Irritant Present** , **Captain Obvious** , **Whywhywhywhywhy** , and **Jutsu bcse Yeah** , thank you for the criticism. You tested not only my patience but also my reasoning behind certain points in my story. So I will be going in order of your arguments and giving you my reasoning.  
Danzo. Despite what you may think, I understand where Danzo is coming from. Danzo is the character that will do anything for the villages. He loves the Village just as much as Hiruzen does, but he will take on the dirty work to make sure the village runs smoothly. Push Sakumo into trying to commit suicide to give an example to the other ninja that the mission should come first. Kill two Genin to commence a war that was bound to happen anyway. while it might not be ethical, his reasoning would be that by waiting and acting like sitting ducks, Kohona was giving the other nations time to bulk up and arm themselves. But sparking the war prematurely, he is ensuring that Kohona has the upper hand. Yes, two Genin died, but by not letting the other villages prepare, he is saving the lives of many other Leaf ninjas. Trying to recruit Reika into Root? He's done it to others younger than her. Do I have to mention Kabuto? Sai? Shin? Tenzo? To him, Reika is rotting away in Genin Corps. She survived an instance that was supposed to kill her, if not recruit her. By trying to get her into Root, he is trying to maximize her usefulness. Like I said before, Danzo is only trying to do what he thinks is the best for Kohona, and that is what I'm trying to portray, though I had wanted to wait a bit before I revealed it...  
Killswitch. Yes, I know. This is exactly what I am emphasizing. Reika will become strong. And the seal is a physical rendition of her weakness. This is Reika. There will come a time when Reika will forget she has it and snarl at the wrong moment, and then she will get a quick reminder of how weak she really is. This whole is about Reika overcoming her weaknesses. About stepping over the obstacles that get in her way. Of Beating the Shitting Karma that she had accumulated in her last life. This Kill switch? It is another obstacle that she has to overcome.  
Multiple P.O.V. I get it. You don't like. But others seem to. I like it. Reika is a reincarnated soul that has knowledge of the future. it is unavoidable that she will think that she is an outsider, no matter how much she denies it. Other P.O.V's do not show this. It includes Reika as if she was Canon. It takes a look at her not as a character but as a person.  
Single-digit Killing machine. Do note. I say Initiate more than once. Reika will not be going out on missions and killing Kage, or even missing-nin during Anbu missions for quite a while. She is more like a fancy chore-girl for Anbu right now. She will probably not even get a mission until she is 10, and even there she might only be on surveillance.  
No progress. This I can understand your point. In the past few chapters, I have chosen to focus on her mental health rather than her physical abilities, because she lost her team. That would be a big shock for anyone. Now she is slowly being built up through Anbu. Reika does have a lot of things going on. Basic Elemental manipulation, Byakugan and the Gentle Fist, other different taijutsu styles, Large Reserves, Great Chakra control, and now she will be getting archery. This is all setting herself up for the future. I may have slacked on her training, but I figure my readers will be able to understand that she is training. That is the only thing she really is doing. As for not using her Kekkei Genkai. May I refer you to chapter 24- Minato's point of view when he blatantly states that it seems like she is not comfortable or used to it, but would rather beat the crap out of someone with her hands instead. This will be worked on more closely with her mother back now.  
Now, I will kindly **not** fuck off, Thank You. I will take criticism when it is due as I listen to my readers. But I expect respect, just as I have given you, and not to be insulted. I do not kick puppies or strangle kittens. You do not like my story? That is fine. I appreciate the time you took to tell me what you think is wrong about it. But the factor is, that you keep reading. So it must have caught your attention somehow, even after you stated in the review that, and I quote, "I am kinda pissed with how this turned out. Bye." Then on the same day, you posted another comment two chapters later.  
Once again, I appreciate the productive criticism that you have given me. But if you still feel like providing me with more, please refrain from being a child and insulting me as a person.  
Have a nice day.

 **Guest** (1/2/3) I am assuming you are all the same person. That is Reika. Full of flaws from the start. This whole story is about her overcoming these flaws. Thank you for the review!

 **NightShadowSlayer** , Thanks for your review. That actually sounds pretty damn awesome. If I hadn't already been sold on a bow, I might have caved. I'll keep them in mind for future characters that come in.  
So the Quacks... You see, I don't want her to be compared to a Hen, But a duck. Mostly because I don't know how to write the sound a chicken makes... Second reason? Chapter 18 when Seiichi shoved a Duck in the trap for the Hyuga bullies. So Ducks it has become. And Ducks it will keep on becoming.  
Thank you for the criticism. I understand where you are coming from. I ranted a bit on an earlier comment about Danzo, but I'll summarise the argument here again. I understand that I have portrayed Danzo as the bad guy here. But at the base, Danzo is indeed doing whatever he has to, to make sure that Kohona comes out on top and is same. He puts the Village first above anyone else, no matter who they are. I'll give you a Timbit as well. Danzo is not the 'villain' in the story. He is part of the problem, but he is not the one who does the most damage. That I promise you.  
Thank you very much for your comment and Criticism. It has helped me more than you know.  
Can't wait to hear more.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28- I Fucking Hate Lightning Users

"Hi!"

I rolled my eyes already having felt Kushina's sudden appearance.

This did not apply to Obito as he fell off his chair.

"Kushina-san!"

Said women snickered and sat down on my booth, successfully pushing me in towards the window.

"What?" She grinned. "It was just too easy!"

Obito opened his mouth but another voice cut in.

"Don't worry about her, Obi-kun."

I blinked in surprise, having not immediately noticed the other person.

"Miko-chan!" he grinned, moving over for his elder cousin.

His elder cousin, that was actually my Anbu teacher.

Mikoto Uchiha sat down on Obito's side of the booth, looking over at Kushina.

"What luck do we have!" My old teacher grins answering my unasked question. "We decide to catch up on Dango, and you too were already here to reserve a spot for us!"

"Eh!" Obito exclaimed. "You two are friends?"

"Kushina is my best friend, Obi-kun."

He scratched his head in question.

"Oh, I didn't know that!"

I bit back a laugh, before catching the eye of my senpai.

"So you must be the Rei-chan that these two keep talking about." She smiled and nodded her head. "My name is Mikoto Uchiha, it is nice to meet you."

I curbed the need to glance over at Kushina, to see her reaction.

There is no doubt what Mikoto was doing here. By approaching me in our everyday lives, she is inviting me into her life. This is no longer just a senpai taking care of their kohai. She is offering me friendship, a chance to be in her life.

"Likewise, My name is Reika Hyuga."

Why would she do that?

"Miko-chan is also the matriarch of the clan, but she is more laid back than her husband." Obito supplied with a grin.

"Careful he doesn't hear you say that, Obi." Mikoto scolded. "He is your patriarch."

The black-haired boy ducked his head before looking around as if Fugaku was going to jump out from the tables around us.

Kushina laughed.

"He won't do anything! That stick in the mud wouldn't dare to deny the truth if I'm here."

She looked over at the exasperated Mikoto and winked as if they were sharing a secret. I raised my cup of tea, and prepared to take a sip, but never swallowed.

"And I also have lots of blackmail." The Uzumaki stuck her hand up and called over the waitress. "Now, let's get some dango for Mikoto's cravings!"

I coughed up the hot tea, trying to wipe the smiled from my lips.

Mikoto's cravings…

Dango…

Chibi Itachi…

"Are you okay Rei?" Kushina asked, tapping my back. I waved her off, tearing up.

"Yeah, went down the wrong tube."

Mikoto sent me a questioning look but was cut off by Obito's enthusiasm.

"Dango? I wonder if my little cousin will like sweets!"

-.-

"Reika!" My mother called, knocking on my bedroom door.

I groaned before rolling over and shoving my head back under the pillow.

My whole body hurt, and to be frank. Mikoto and Okaa-san had kicked the shit out of me yesterday.

 _"_ _Your hand signs are too slow!" Karasu kicked through my earth wall, and I barely got out of the way before my mother engaged me in hand to hand combat._

 _Her finger sunk into my shoulder right at the end of my replacement jutsu. This causing it to fail._

 _I hissed and moved away once again, but was cornered by the shadow clone of my teacher._

 _"_ _Stop running away and fight Reika!" my mother ordered before they both went in at the same time._

"Reika! Kakashi is here!" I felt the need to flip off my mother but knew that wasn't the best idea. Especially when she could see through walls.

"Coming." My voice cracked full of sleep as I slide down my mattress and put on my Anbu armor under my clean clothes.

My outer gear and insignia went next.

Once ready, I grabbed my mission's bag, propped it on my shoulder and moved to the door.

Just like my mother said, Kakashi stood there, chatting.

"Hey Rei," He grinned, his eyes full of excitement. "Ready for a mission?"

I knew he was just as happy as I was about going on a mission together.

It would be a first.

And it would also be my first time outside the village since Seiichi and Tsubasa's death.

"Take care, okay?" Okaa-san said patting my head. "And listen to Minato, both of you."

I rolled my eyes and slipped on my shoes.

"This isn't my first mission, Okaa-san," I told her. Her eyes became slightly glossy as if she was going to cry, but she sucked it up fast.

"I know, but don't blame me for worrying."

The door closed behind us, and we hurried through the glares to the gates of the compound.

"This is going to be great," Kakashi stated, motioning between us. "And we have to do great on this mission. This way the Hokage will be impressed and will let us be on the same genin squad this year."

I blinked in surprise.

"This year?" I asked.

"Yes, he told Minato-sensei that he wants him to teach a squad next."

I hummed, before following him to the gates. How long until then?

6 months?

"Hey, you two." Minato greeted as he finished signing us out. "Ready to get going?"

"Good Morning, Minato-san," I said back walking right into step with him. A sudden huff answered me from the sides of the gate, distracting my movements.

Kakashi gave a short whistle and Bull got up from the ground and moved to greet me.

I scratched his ear, knowing full well that throughout this mission, he would be in a different state of mind. Like guide dogs, when on duty, they were not to be treated like regular ones.

With one last pat, I turned back to my companions.

"Now I'm ready," I told them. Minato grinned before turning to the gates and jumping into the trees.

We ran in a diamond. Minato up front, me in the back with Bull and Kakashi flanking the sides.

"What's the mission?" I asked my squad leader flicking my Byakugan on and scanning around us.

"As I said at Ichiraku's two days ago it is a C-rank." He told me. "We are going to the Eastern border and will be meeting up the test raid. The Hokage needed to send some last minute orders to them, so he is sending us."

"That's a C-rank?" I asked, surprised. "That sounds more like a B!"

"In wartime, the ranks are a tad bit different, but we can handle it. The Hokage usually gives me these types of missions to do solo. Really I'm just letting you guys tag along for the experience."

But these are the types of missions that usually go wrong. Worry curled in my gut and I stamped it down quickly.

Nothing will happen to them. These are members of canon.

"Why do you usually do these solo?" Kakashi asked and I tuned back in. Minato looked back and a grin spread on his face.

"That is because I am the fastest shinobi we have." He said and it didn't even sound smug. It was a fact.

That meant one thing. One thing that made me feel a whole lot better.

He already knew the Hirashin.

-.-

It took us a total of three days to make it to the coast and another to run into patrols.

Or rather, they ran into us.

"Leaves flutter…"

We stopped, and after having already warned Minato, he prepared the response.

"In a peaceful village." He answered.

I didn't recognize the three men but it seemed to be the right answer.

"Welcome Minato-san." The head Jonin called before he looked over at the two of us who had flanked our superior. "Who are these two?"

Minato laughed before moving to meet him. The other two jonin moved behind us.

"My apprentice Hatake Kakashi, and his nin-kin Bull, and Genin Hyuga Reika." He replied and we headed out once again, this time in another direction.

I discretely turned back on my Byakugan and watched us move towards a large blue dome.

"What's in the dome?" I asked as we reached the perimeter.

"You'll see," Was my answer.

I understood once we took a step through the barrier.

It was a base camp.

"Come on, let's get you to Orochimaru-Taicho."

Orochimaru?

"Rei?" Kakashi looked over at me and I schooled my features.

"Are we really going to be meeting one of the Sanin?" I asked, for nothing more than information.

Minato smiled.

"Are you that nervous to meet a Sanin, Reika? That is surprising." He teased.

"I'm not nervous." I bit back, but his eyes still seemed to be laughing at me.

Bull brushed up against me as if to tell me that he was here and not to be nervous and I glared at Kakashi and his pinched mask.

I'll give him something to be nervous about.

We came across a large tent with two guards stationed just outside.

"Orochimaru-Taicho, Minato and his team have arrived." The Jonin called from the outside.

"Enter."

I took a deliberate breath before I followed my temporary teammates into the tent.

Orochimaru was not much different than how the anime portrayed him. Snake-like, yellow-eyed, black-haired and fair skinned.

"Good Afternoon, Orochimaru-san." Minato smiled.

Surprisingly, said man rolled his eyes.

"I think we are beyond pleasantries Minato. And do tell me if you have seen your sensei lately?" He complained. "He's being a fool even more than usual! Had an unfortunate run-in with him last week and he keeps talking about wanting to write a book! The Idiot needs to be able to write for that!"

I rubbed my chin on my shoulder, trying to stop my smile from appearing on my face.

Probably one of the most hated characters in all of Naruto, complaining about his teammate.

The blond-haired man chuckled and rubbed the back of his head.

"I'm not my teacher's keeper, Orochimaru-san." He chuckled. "But that aside, I am here with a message."

Orochimaru schooled his features, turning directly towards us, leaning on the large table set in the middle. A large map had been placed on it, laying out the elemental nations.

"What does sensei want?" he asked. "We are about ready to move."

"He sent us with this." Minato pulled a scroll out of nowhere and tossed it over the snake.

Orochimaru unraveled it and looked it over.

One, Twice, and Thrice.

"Last I heard, you had only one Apprentice." The Sanin said closing it up with a snap. His yellow eyes looked over at Kakashi and I tried to resist the urge to flinch.

If I remember correctly this guy had been in league with Danzo. At least partly. My hand twitched next to my kunai holster and I met his eye with mine.

Try it.

"Yeah! Kakashi is mine, Reika was Kushina's student until Team 6 disbanded. She's waiting to be placed on a new squad with the next rotation." Minato supplied.

Thanks for just giving out everything, Genius.

The yellow-eyed man hummed before nodding to the entrance.

"Is this their first time at a base camp?" he asked.

"Kakashi's," Minato answered, and I felt said boy shift next to me.

"They must be curious to check it out."

That was a dismissal if I ever heard it.

"Ah? Without a guide?" Minato hesitated.

"By the way it looks, There are similarities to the Kumo border camp." I piped up. "I doubt we will get lost."

I wanted to be gone from Orochimaru's sight. He wasn't as scary as Danzo, but still. If he was going to start performing experiments on children, all the more if he is already doing it, I didn't want to be known by him more then I had to.

Minato caught our eyes before giving us a smile.

"All right, I'll find you guys after." He instructed. "Don't stray too far, and stay together."

I glanced lightly over at Kakashi and I could see the pinch in his mask.

"When do we ever cause trouble, Minato-sensei?"

-.-

We stayed at the border camp for a good week.

And on day two of that week, we were found by someone I really should have expected, and surprised by another.

"And what is this?"

Rolling my eyes I turned to face my once-teacher.

"Who are you?" Kakashi glared lightly and I couldn't help but think it was just so cute, him trying to defend me. But the other completely disregarded him.

"And here I thought I was finally rid of you."

"It is nice to see you too, Fugaku-sensei."

The Uchiha was leaning against a nearby tree as Kakashi and I were helping with transporting supplies.

"Sensei?" Kakashi asked me.

"Yes, he is the one Kushina-sensei had help me with my basic elemental training," I replied to my best friend.

"Had? You are lucky I gave you the time of day, brat." He crossed his arms, looking as douchey as usual, but he stilled as I grinned.

"Really? I heard Kushina-sensei blackmailed you into it!" I retorted.

I heard snickering next to me and held my hand out for a high five from Kakashi who supplied.

The Uchiha Patriarch frowned and glared at me.

"And where would you have heard that annoying thing has any blackmail on me?"

Checkmate.

"Your wife," I replied.

I snickered even harder as his eyebrow twitched harder.

"As if you would know my wife!" He defended.

Kakashi and I shared a look before Bull sneezed and got up. He made his way over to the tree line, closer to the edge of camp and crouched down, his tail flat, back to us.

"I agree!" I called to the overgrown mutt before pointing to him. "Bull Shit."

Kakashi started to cough dropping his box and crouching as well to try and quiet his laughter.

It didn't help much before we were both almost crying.

Did I ever tell you how much I love Bull?

He and I just get along so well… We get each other.

"Obito was saying that Kushina and someone called Miko-chan crashed your lunch yesterday," Kakashi said wiping his eyes.

"She did not." Fugaku bit, I could almost see the horror in his eyes.

This is no longer me being trained by Karasu-senpai. This is being personally acquainted with the matriarch of the Uchiha clan. His wife. And being acquainted with her means it would not be weird to let's say, swing by and say hello every once in a while. Or even get closer to the family.

"Yup," I told him. "I guess you won't be rid of me any time soon."

Fugaku opened his mouth to retort when another chakra signature cut him off.

"You know, I thought I raised you better than to be teasing another of higher rank."

I looked up and with a grin. I let myself lean into the chest of the ninja behind me, thankful that he had not heard the language I was wielding just before.

"Good Morning, Otou-san." I grinned up at the Hyuga.

"Oh! Hello Hizashi-Oji-san!" Kakashi grinned next to me, both of us the picture of innocence.

His hand fell onto my shoulder and he gave me an amused look.

"Please forgive my daughter and her friend for their disrespect, Uchiha-sama." My father said with a bow of his head.

Surprisingly, Fugaku waved him off.

"Relax, Hizashi-san. I think this is your daughter's payback for my harsh training."

He gave me a knowing look.

"I've had worse." I snarked back at him.

Unlike I thought would happen, he smirked over at me.

"I think that comment warrants diaper duty once my child is born." He threatened. "Since Mikoto has all but given you the keys to the house."

Opening my mouth I was going to bite back a response when I thought about it.

"If I'm going to be doing diaper duty, I want Nee-chan rights!" I said picking back up my box of supplies.

"Wait. What?" he growled. "Who said you get…"

"No take backs!"

And without further ado, I activated the Shunshin, using a one-handed seal.

-.-

My father found me later that night and sat beside me. Kakashi and Bull already asleep. Minato was eating a bowl of stew the camp had prepared that night.

"Since when do you know One-hand seals?" he asked sitting next to me.

I smiled and handed over my canteen. He took it with a soft smile and sipped at it.

"One-handed seals?" Minato looked up surprised.

I scratched my head in embarrassment.

"It's only the Shunshin…"

My father ruffled my hair. Batting away his hand, I tried to fix the mess my hair had become.

"That is still kind of impressive since you have only known the Body Flicker for a month or so." Minato praised.

The praise made my cheeks feel hot, and I hid behind my own bowl, finishing it.

"Okaa-san has been helping me," I muttered before realizing something important.

My father didn't know I was in Anbu. Not yet anyway.

"She got back alright?" Hizashi smiled, his crystal eyes softening.

"Yes, she had eyestrain, but other than that, she was pretty much okay," I told him, playing with the ends of my kimono top.

Watching him exhale was like watching a weight fall off his shoulders.

It was one less thing to worry about.

Was it wrong of me to not want to tell him? That I was in Anbu?

That night, I slept with my back to my father, snuggled in my sleeping bag, him in his.

It felt nice to see him, to be able to spend time with him.

Come three nights later, Minato, Kakashi, Bull and I were standing by, as the camp packed up, and the ninja grouped together.

"Alright. Let's move out." Orochimaru yelled. One by one the Shinobi and Konichi jumped into the trees, following the Sanin.

"Be good to your Mother and Minato-san." My father said and squeezed my shoulder once.

No other goodbyes were said before he flew into the trees after then men.

I jumped as another hand landed on my head. At the same time, a piece of a paper slide into my hand.

"Give this to Mikoto."

Fugaku jumped after them, pushing forward to the head of the pack of 100 ninjas, all with their chakra signature, next to Orochimaru.

I watched them go, leaving not only the camp but the dome.

Activating my Byakugan, I watched the dome fall apart for the top down, canceling the jutsu.

"Minato-san," I asked him before I slide the folded piece of paper into a safe pouch.

"Yes Reika-chan?" he replied, tapping his sandals to remove the little rocks that he had in them.

"This isn't going to be a raid is it?"

He was silent.

"It's too big to be one." My best friend supplied catching on as well.

At the heart of me, I knew what this was. And I could only hope that they all came back alive.

 _"_ _Anyway, just letting you know that I'm finally being sent out," Fugaku told me._

 _I blinked in surprise._

 _"_ _Anbu?" I asked._

 _He shook his head and shifted his weight, his arms crossed over his chest._

 _"_ _Counter-attack."_

"You are both right." He turned away.

"Mission Accomplished kids, let's go home."

I wish I could have said that was it.

But as always.

Shit happened.

-.-

The shaded scene with blue specs before me could only mean one thing.

"Group of seven to the northeast, engaged in conflict." I reported. "10 km away."

Minato flicked his head back and I felt Kakashi tensed to my right.

"Who is fighting?" he asked.

I zoomed in and took a look at what was going on.

"Three Konoha ninja, one Nin-kin." I paused taking a better look at their opponents. "Three Kumo ninja with Three Kumo tails."

"Catch." I blinked back only to catch the bingo book that he threw me. "Look over the Kumo section fast, who are they?"

Minato changed our direction, moving towards the conflict.

I did what was told of me when I really didn't need to.

Fear crept up inside me as I glanced over at my best friend.

This can't happen when he is here.

Please don't let him be hurt.

"A, and Killer Bee," I told our team leader, swallowing the lump in my throat.

The future Hokage stopped on the closest branch and faced me.

"Are you sure." He asked. His voice was calm and even like he had done this stuff before. And I honestly would believe he had.

I nodded before tossing it back.

Breathing seemed to be the loudest thing in our vicinity as I waited for our orders.

"Are we engaging, Sensei?" Kakashi asked. It was different to hear the slight worry in his voice. But that might also be because I know him so well.

Minato looked over at us as he weighed the options. We were two Genin and a nin-kin. Blinking, his eyes hardened.

He became the Yellow-Flash and looked at me for what I was. An Anbu trainee.

"Kakashi, I want you and Bull to circle around and head to the border, get us back up. Kumo was a step in front of us and decided to raid us."

I opened my mouth, wanting to tell him that Kakashi was going to get himself killed if he did that, but closed it soon after.

If Kumo is raiding us with such key pieces, then it is better for our counter-attack if hit them…

Minato wants us to hold them off.

As a distraction.

I calculated the distance in my head, Kakashi could get back up from within 20 minutes.

"But…" Kakashi looked towards me. "I can fight."

"Out of you and Reika, you are faster. I need you to get to the border, you do remember where it is right?"

"Yes."

Bull barked and Kakashi sighed but jumped on his back. He sent me one last worried look before taking off.

"Reika…" Minato said, his voice just as hard as his eyes. Serious, like the leader he would become. "Are you fit for combat?"

The last serious combat I fought in, was when Seiichi and Tsubasa died.

I sighed before sliding off my bag and pulling off my kimono. Stuffing it in, my hands slid on my mask. Blank, so much like root, but so different.

"I'll be fine," I told him, my voice slightly distorted. I know I would. It has been months, and fighting was second nature to me.

So, I pulled in my chakra to the exact amount that Karasu instructed me to and waited for orders.

He nodded before he too pulled in his chakra. And he held out his hand.

"Pass over your bag, I'll seal it."

I nodded and watched him do that and stuff it in a pouch.

"Keep on the perimeter and pick off the tails that are following them. I'm going to engage the main raid." His hand touched my shoulder and I felt the invasion of foreign chakra on my armor.

"If anything, feed chakra into it, I'll know to come." He looked me in the eye and my respect for him only increased. "When you see Kakashi and the others on their way back, I want you to signal the retreat. You remember it, right?"

One long whistle, at just the right pitch.

"Yes." I fell back and circled around him.

Nervousness turned in my gut as I once again activated my Byakugan and watched my surrounding. This panic needs to leave. No one will die. This is not their time.

Inhale 10

Hold 20

Exhale 5

My movements were mechanical as I slipped from branch to another. Up into leaves before into another tree where I would be able to have a visual.

I hit the closest enemy at the same time that Minato appeared in defense of the border patrol.

He never realized that he was being attacked as a kunai through his ribs, up into his heart, instantly killing him.

Enemy Kunai hit my replacement log and I disappeared into the bush once again. I was watching as the Kumo kunoichi turned and listened, looking for my presence.

Refilling my usable chakra with pain-stricken slowness, I kept an eye on my target.

Breathed in when she did.

Exhaled as well.

The hunter hunting the prey.

My body slipped down from the branches, not letting a single noise escape and I hit the ground as soon as she did.

 **Earth Style: Head Hunter Jutsu.**

I never got used to the feeling of moving through the earth, but the technique was useful as I moved under the ninja. Even better with my Byakugan, not having to rely on approximate location, but exact.

Fire? Water? Wind? Lighting? She was probably expecting one of those techniques where the user has to be above ground.

Earth user? Kohona was not known for its good earth users.

I pulled her below ground, clogging and shattering the chakra point in her spine, breaking the bone in the meantime.

She choked in pain. But the next thing she would see was that office lady. I sighed, replacing my foot on the ground from breaking her neck.

I zoomed out again and faded my way back into the trees.

Who is next?

My eyes brought me slightly back to Minato.

And I tell you.

The Hirashi is amazing.

Each one of his kunai, each one of his marks, held a bright blue indication of chakra and it was held at a constant rate. With every move he made it was only his chakra that would flicker. There was no disturbance in whatever seal he came from. There was no way to track it.

Oh! How I wanted that.

But sealing.

Zooming back out, I returned to my task tracking the other Kumo nin that was hiding in the trees.

The last one.

He wasn't a problem.

No, not at all.

It was what came after him that was the problem.

Using my Kekkei Genkai despite the itch on my eyes, I located Kakashi, riding on Bull only a few kilometers away, two squads of Kohona ninja behind him. So I sounded the whistle.

But after that?

I had no warning before I was tackled off the high branch, a sword aiming for my neck.

A hand immediately went to half a tiger seal and I shunshined out of the way.

Bright blond hair, nearly white, pulled up into a ponytail was the first thing I saw.

I swallowed and flew through more hand signs to match her own.

 **Earth Style: Mud Wall**

Using it as a diversion. I launched myself back over it just as my opponent broke through.

Brute strength was the next thing that caught my eye.

My feet touched the ground and I fell into an open stance.

 **Gentle Fist 32 Palms**

I hit the back of my opponent, realizing just how small they were.

The body turned into smoke just as instinct demanded that I duck.

She.

It was a she.

My light purple eyes met Emerald green through my mask.

What the fuck?

She didn't look more than 13 years old. But the open chunin vest on her shoulders warned me not to be deceived.

The shock went both ways, as the girl froze looking me over.

That was the mistake for her.

I sent over kunai, and she blocked them with her sword. Electricity seemed to spark around her lightly, concentrating on her weapon.

Diving out of the way was the only way to avoid the bolt that vaporized the branch I had stood on. I hit the ground and swore.

"Just my fucking luck! A lightning user!"

 **Earth Style: Earth Spear**

A large earth pike erupted from the ground. A single slice broke it into pieces.

She's good.

Really good.

And a fucking lightning user to boot.

Wind. I need wind chakra.

"Fuck." I cursed, dodging out of the way.

Hesitating for barely a second she turned around, creases forming on her dark-skinned forehead.

"What did you just say?" her voice was soft. Not how I would have pictured her to be.

"Go suck a thousand dicks," I muttered.

That was my mistake.

Her eyes turned from astonishment to understanding, and finally anger.

She understood.

Her swing became wild, clearly full of emotion. That was my point of entry. She swung too large, allowing me to trap her arm and flick the sword out of her wrist.

I then hit a single tenkentsu point in her arm, closing one of her pathways, and she kicked me back.

The ground was hard, but I choked up the pain and rolled back. Three kunai wrapped in homemade seals flew out from my hands.

They detonated and ignited the trees.

I pulled my chakra back in and slide into the forest. Silently and vigilantly I made my way to the back of the forces, where Minato still stood, preparing to leave, the other Kohona ninja already gone.

Again, there was no warning before I was sent flying into yet another tree, my shoulder erupting in pain.

"What the fuck!" I hissed. "How the hell are you finding me!"

Quickly I relocated my shoulder, sloppily, but I didn't have a choice.

Next thing I knew, the lightning chakra was surrounding her and her feet were bunching.

I hissed and ran through the seal again.

 **Earth Style: Mud Wall**

As she hit the wall, I was prepared. In pain, but in position.

8 Palms

16 Palms

32 Palms

My fingers felt like they had been held inside a deep fryer as I completed the next part of the sequence.

 **8 Trigrams 64 Palms**.

This time, she was the one who was sent into a tree, cracking it with the force of the strike.

I gasped for breath, taking a quick glance at my blistering hands. Eyes snapping up was surprised to see her still moving, struggling to get up, blood rolling down her mouth. She coughed, and more came out.

"Who." She whispered in that past language. "Who are you?"

I froze in my approach. Her green eyes seemed to be staring right into me.

My eyes moved down her form taking in the black tattoo that encircled her arm.

I watched closely as her arms moved weakly up to the same level as her shoulders and snapped towards her shoulders.

Eight times after that she did the same movements. And I was an idiot for holding back at that moment.

There is no way she should know that.

Neigong. The non-combat style that increases Chi flow.

Swallowing my nerves, fear struck me, my limbs shaking. She unlocked her chakra points in her arms.

Neigong unlocks Chi points. Aka Tenketsu.

Why did I never think of that before?

Neigong returns the body to an even balance.

And why did I never continue it?

"You understand me." The girl whispered again.

My feet shook, but I refused to step back.

"Shut up." I lashed out. "And fight already."

Her chakra flared once again before it was pulled into her arm… into the dragon tattoo.

Reika, Reika, Reika. You should know by now that you shouldn't provoke your opponents.

 **Black Lightning.**

Recognizing the technique I swore again before taking a gamble. Starting the sequence with Snake and ending with a clap I only needed a short gust of wind.

 **Wind Release: Gale Palm.**

More explosive tags that I had sent went flying into the black being that rushed towards me, exploding and splitting the technique.

It didn't stop all of it though, and part of the jutsu hit me in my bad shoulder, making me fly past the tree line and into the clearing.

"Fuck!" I hissed. Coughing out blood and looking back up as the blond haired girl limped out of the treeline after me, her tattooed arm just as blistered as my fingers.

"Enough."

We both froze, seeing Minato, pointing his kunai to Killer Bee's head, and Killer Bee pointing a spike at his gut.

A was closest to us, and the one who had spoken.

"But A!" the girl said but swayed on her feet.

My eyes caught Minato's and he appeared next to me, his hand on my back, where he had placed his seal beforehand.

"You okay?" he asked me, his eyes never left the enemy.

My eyes traveled up to A, then the tentacle behind Bee before snapping back over to the girl.

"We are retreating as well, Maiko. Gather the others."

The girl, now known as Maiko, kept her eyes on me, questions floating around. Questions for me.

"She killed them all."

All Kumo eyes flickered to me and that was our cue to make our escape.

-.-

Minato, Kakashi and I were sent right back to the border, while the squad that Kakashi had sent for inspected the border once again to check on Kumo movements.

Minato and Kakashi reported to the person in charge of the border and I wasn't given a choice as to be sent to the medical tent.

Opening my eyes, mine caught those of my temporary teammates.

"Hi," I muttered.

Minato grinned.

"You need to stop ending up in the hospital every time you leave the village, kiddo."

I felt the need to flip him off, but with my fingers bandaged as they were and in so much pain I just rolled my eyes.

"Hey, Rei!" Kakashi asked. "What the heck did you touch? Your fingers were all bloody and blistered."

I thought about the best way to answer the question but decided just to say a fact.

"I hate Lightning Users."

This made Minato burst out laughing, his hands wiping the tears from his eyes.

Kakashi failed to see what was funny, so he ended up declaring that he would fight with us next time.

Barely able to move my fingers, I forced them to give him a thumbs up.

"Sure, you get Green eyes."

Minato smiled before turning to his apprentice.

"Hey Kakashi, do you mind getting us food while Reika gives me her report?" he asked.

I ignored, the reluctant attitude Kakashi gave our leader. Instead, I thanked karma that Minato had the sense not to pull Kakashi into the report. Surprisingly, he hasn't killed yet and I didn't want to have to baptize him on what combat was really like.

"So?" The future Hokage asked, leaning back on his chair. "Report?"

And I did. There were parts I left out. Like how that Maiko girl knew the same language as me and her use of Neigong. But left the rest in. I talked particularly about the tattoo and the black lightning that came off it.

"You know, the only person that has that ability of the black lightning is the Third Raikage," Minato replied, scratching his chin.

"Well, I don't think the Third Raikage is a pre-teen girl."

Minato snickered before silence fell between us.

"What happened to my mask?" I asked him.

He nodded to my bag that set next to the bed.

"I made sure Kakashi didn't see it and replaced your Kimono top on your armor."

Humming, I shifted but only hissed in response.

"Anyway, that sucked."

Minato couldn't help but smile. Sadly, but still, smile nonetheless. He is probably just happy I'm alive.

"At least you only had one. I had to deal with the next in line for the position of Raikage and the 8-tails."

I snorted.

"That doesn't count! You're you."

-.-

We got back to the village as soon as I was ready for travel.

And it was a breath of fresh air. All in all, I think my first mission in a while went well.

While Minato and I were sent in to give the report, Kakashi was instructed to head home with Bull. It took an argument and a half, but he finally did as was asked.

Whatever happened to the boy that would obey orders without question.

The little voice inside my head called out after.

He didn't gaze upon his father's corpse.

Hiruzen tapped his fingers on his desk in thought.

"I was expecting this, but not this soon." He replied.

"But at least, it gave a cover for the counter-attack to get in," Minato replied. The Hokage glanced over at me in question. "Both kids already figured it out, Hokage-sama."

He hummed, clearly not surprised and turned back to me.

"Reika-chan, You said the girl was using the black lightning technique?"

I nodded.

"With a black dragon tattoo to match, they are linked somehow."

Hokage sighed taking a puff from his pipe.

I must give him a headache. He always starts smoking when I come in.

"Then it is a good thing it missed you." He said.

Pursuing my lips, my eyes flickered to Minato.

"Uh, Hokage-sama. From what Reika told me, She split the lightning but part of it did hit her."

"If it matters, I don't want to deal with that again…" I remarked before realizing I was being sarcastic to the Hokage.

Surprisingly, he took it in stride and laughed.

"Of course you would live after that, Rei-chan." His eyes softened.

No. I just think she hadn't completed it yet. Those burns on her arm afterward told me she was still working on the jutsu. It wasn't complete.

"So what so special about her other than the black lighting technique?"

It was a question I was dying to ask. Even in the past, it was never really explained.

Exhaling the smoke, he tapped out the tobacco and pulled out another bingo book directing me to page 60.

"The third Raikage?" I asked. "Minato-san already told me this."

My eyes went back to the page and I could tell that he wanted me to see something else.

"Dark-skinned, Blond hair and green eyes," I muttered. "They look similar."

And then I got it.

"She did seem to take orders from A, but was not above questioning orders, like she was used to the guy," Minato remarked, sighing and scratching his head.

"Does this mean what I think it means, Hokage-sama?"

The leader of the Village Hidden in the Leaves crossed his fingers and leaned his head on them.

"I think this means that the Raikage had another child, and our informants never caught wind of the girl."

Internally, I groaned at the thought.

Just my fucking luck, to have caught the eye of another Kage's child. A child that wants to wring answers from my throat.

And someone, when push comes to shove, and shit hits the fan…

Might end up being my greatest ally in the long run.

-.-

I was quickly given two weeks mandatory rest, and appointments every few days to check my progress before I left the hospital that night, a lollipop in my mouth, because why not? They had a bowl, I was 8, therefore still a kid, and I wanted sweets.

I think I earned it.

Turning down the streets I made my way to the Uchiha compound and to a familiar apartment.

"Good Evening, Uchiha-baa-san." I greeted as Obito's grandmother answered the door.

"Oh, Rei-chan." She said like the sweet little old lady she was. "Are you here for Obito?"

I smiled and nodded.

"Yes, please." She chuckled and let me in.

"You are such a polite little lady." She continued, despite my eyebrow twitching at the word little. "I'll go get him, please make yourself at home."

Turns out, she didn't need to.

"Rei! How was the mission?" he yelled crashing down the hall, and almost into the wall.

I shrugged and held up one of my bandaged hands, the other in a sling.

"Two weeks rest and I'm back on the rooster."

He sent me a quick glare.

"Seriously? Can't you ever come back not injured?" Obito scolded.

It was quite the day when it was this Uchiha scolding me.

"Yeah, yeah," I said waving him off. "Anyway, I wanted to know how to get to Mikoto-sama's house."

He slipped on his sandals without hesitation and kissed his grandmother on the cheek.

"I'll see you later, Baa-chan."

Moving from the apartment he addressed my question.

"I'll bring you, but why?" he folded his hands behind his neck and turned around to walk backward.

I ignored the way his eyes searched for other wounds on my body.

"I have something for her," I told him.

"And how did you get a hold of that?" he questioned again, like the nosy kid he was.

"Met up with Fugaku-sensei." I finished holding up the small paper he had stuffed in my hand.

He blinked but grinned.

"Is it a love note?" he questioned.

"I didn't check Obi." I reprimanded. "It would be a breach of trust."

Pouting, he veered to the left.

"Stick in the mud." He muttered. "I bet it is. Fugaku loves my cousin."

I replaced the paper in my kimono as soon as we walked through the gates of an enclosed house.

"This is the main house, They moved in here a few years back when the previous clanhead died." He hummed.

"Thanks, Obi," I replied curling my fist out to him.

He bumped it softly, still conscious of my injuries, and turned away.

"Sure. I was going to head out to see Rin anyway. We are heading over to the Teme's house."

I smiled promised to meet them after and headed inside the yard and to the front door.

Barely having time to knock, Mikoto in a soft navy blue kimono met me at the door.

"Reika-chan." She greeted.

I bowed like I was supposed to and met her eye.

"I'm sorry for coming to see you so late, Mikoto-sama." I apologized. "I would have come earlier, but I was in the hospital."

Worry crossed her eyes, and in quick response she smothered it.

"I hope all is fine. Please. Come in." She responded.

"Thank you." I walked in the door and took off my sandals with care for my fingers.

Her soft expression turned a little more fierce and she gently caught hold of my unstrapped hand.

"I thought this was supposed to be a quick mission to give orders to a raid." She scolded leading me to her kitchen. "Sit."

I did as ordered. Wincing as I knelt down on the cushions, drumming my hand on the table.

"Stop moving them or they will not heal." A real Momma Bear this one.

I tried not to snicker at the thought, as she placed a cup of tea in front of me. I couldn't help but frown afterward at the straw she had placed in the lukewarm tea.

My first reaction was to claim that I wasn't a child, but I was.

"So what went wrong?" She asked.

While not giving the specifics, I ran down the mission before focusing on the end result.

"I guess that was good for us. Two out of Kumo's strongest ninja were not with their main force." She reasoned. "This gives us the advantage."

She hummed before her hand touched her belly.

"You got really close to some major fighting there, Reika." Her voice seemed strained like she was holding back her nerves. "Using your Mask for the first time as well. I wouldn't be surprised if you are sent out on a mission earlier by the Hokage because of this. You did well."

I nodded, before reaching for my cup. A glare stopped me and I reluctantly used the straw instead.

"What worried me the most," I paused thinking back to the fight. "Is that she knew where I was. She was a sensor and an extremely good one."

Mikoto's eyes narrowed in confusion.

"What do you mean? Were you using too much chakra?" she asked.

I shook my head.

"The same amount you had me level out the first few times we met." My eyes met my fingers. "I was able to eliminate the other targets easy enough through stealth, but the other girl, it was like she could sense that amount of chakra easily" She rubbed her belly it in circles as she thought.

"That is concerning."

We fell silent again before I saw her eyes pop.

"Come here." She ordered.

I barely had time to move before she grabbed my wrist and placed her hand on her belly.

Despite the stinging of my burns, I could feel the fluttering and quick movements under my palms.

"He's moving." I blinked in surprise. I could choke up the pain in my hand for this any day.

"This is the first time he's moved so much." Mikoto smiled.

A proud mama. That is what she was. I couldn't help but smile as well.

Itachi will be spoilt this time. If not by Mikoto, but by me.

"Oh," I said, finally pulling my hand back. "Fukagu-sensei gave me Nee-chan rights," I told her.

Black eyes whipped towards me in surprise.

"What?" she confused and I completely understand why. With a husband like Fugaku, a clan leader to boot, there was no way he would give away those rights without a good reason.

"He said that because I was bugging him too much, I deserved diaper duty," I replied with a grin. "So I told him that since he gave me that, it warrants Nee-chan rights."

Mikoto snorted, then covered her mouth, trying not to laugh, but clearly failing.

"And he just gave you them!" she snickered.

I shrugged.

"I shunshined out of there before he could argue."

Remembering the main reason for my visit, I reached into my kimono and took out the folded piece of paper.

"He also asked me to give you this."

She looked over at the paper before she took it from me.

Opening it. She smiled, wetness coming to her eyes.

I let her have her moment, in silence. Not looking as the matriarch of the Uchiha clan looked over the note the patriarch gave her. A note from her husband. Despite my common sense, I couldn't help but think that it was also a note that could very well be the last she ever gets back.

"Do you want some blackmail?" she asked me after a while, clearing her throat.

I rose an eyebrow and with one movement, she turned over the scrap piece of paper.

"What the hell!" I gasped.

For one, the paper looked as if it had been ripped from a corner. Nothing formal about it, just a scrap piece of paper. Written on it, were no words to see. Nothing that gave instruction or what I would have expected from Fugaku.

No. Instead there was a little drawing. A cute little drawing.

How cute you ask? So cute that I raised my hand to rub at my eyes, sucking up the soreness.

A little doodle with a cat sleeping its tail wrapped around a little egg. Beside it, was a crow with the beak tucked under her wing that was spread behind the egg. Looking closer, I noticed the little snores that came off them both.

Honestly, I was shocked.

Never in either of my lives did I ever think that Fugaku was a little romantic, nonetheless cute!

"Ever since we started dating, he would leave me little drawings. He's not good with words, so he draws little things like this for me so that I would know he was thinking of me," She confessed with a smile. "I guess it is what made me fall for him from the beginning."

She brought the paper and placed it on the table next to her tea.

"He even drew the little one, this time."

I was still flabbergasted at the thought of him drawing them.

He would be so embarrassed if he found out that I knew.

"You are actually the second person who knows." She told me.

I blinked in surprise.

"And who is the second?" I asked.

I immediately thought Kushina, as her best friend but I was taken aback by the name that came next.

"Obi-kun." She giggled. "Fugaku and I started dating 4 years ago, and apparently he sucked up his pride and went to my little 4-year-old cousin for a tip on how to win my heart."

My thoughts went back to moments before when Obito was escorting me here.

 _"_ _Is it a love note?" He questioned._

 _"_ _I didn't check Obi." I reprimanded. "That would be a breach of trust."_

 _"_ _Stick in the mud." He pouted. "I bet it is! Fugaku loves my cousin."_

"Why give me this blackmail?" I asked her. "Actually, while we are at it. Why include me in your life as well. I'm just your Anbu charge? You don't have to deal with me outside headquarters?"

She blinked twice before her hand rested on my forehead.

"You asked me to." She answered. "You wanted to be a part of it when you asked about him." her other hand touched Itachi.

I blinked.

"You didn't have too," I said, embarrassed as emotions built up. "I'm just a kid you met not even three months ago."

"You are right." She leaned forward and to my surprise, kissed my forehead. "But you see, this works well for us too."

She held up her fingers and counted off reasons why.

"You are my charge. I enjoy working with you. You are skilled and kind, and young enough to still connect with the little one. By knowing Mikoto and not just Karasu, as he grows inside me, we can take the lessons inside my house for more delicate things and it won't be suspicious. That and you can annoy Fugaku when he gets home."

I waved her off with a blush.

"Okay! Okay! I get the point." I tucked my chin in my kimono, trying not to bump my injured shoulder.

"Oh, and there is one more major reason." She refused to stop. " Both Fugaku, no matter what he says, and I like you as a person."

I finished my tea and got up, my face completely red.

"Are you sure you just don't want a free babysitter." I bit.

She chuckled and smiled.

"There might be that too, with Obito and You, Fugaku and I have all the time in the world."

I rolled my eyes and moved towards the door.

Gracefully Mikoto came with me, seeing me out.

"Take a week off and rest Reika." She told me at the door. "We will start up again seriously when you are healed."

I waved her off, bowing right outside the door and left the compound as fast as possible.

It was shocking just how much those two trusted me. It was unlikely that this was the first time Mikoto heard of me. As Kushina's best friend, she would also have been her soundboard. All the good and bad that came with me that Kushina knew, as did Mikoto. No wonder she didn't feel nervous about accepting me into their circle.

Itachi. I won't let Itachi grow up to be the mass murderer he was destined to.

I will break that destiny. That you can be sure.

"It's only fitting." I froze as a voice woke me from my thoughts.

I could tell he was a Hyuga by the eyes. But about what he was referring to, I had no idea.

So I stopped moving and stared at him.

And Stared.

"The Uchiha clan is a lesser clan. It is only fitting that you would associate yourself with them."

Hot rage flew through me and I felt the need to snarl at him.

But I never had the time.

"Enough, Nijiro-san. Do you not have somewhere to be?" I blinked at the other Hyuga that stepped out from behind a building.

"Yes, Hitomi-sama." He hurried to say. Not long after he disappeared. She was beautiful. Dark purple- hair, straight and soft looking. Her eyes a lavender white, brighter than mine, looking like pearls. She was also dressed in a formal purple Kimono.

"Run along now, Reika-chan." She smiled softly. "And please forgive their rudeness."

She turned away after and I was left standing there.

Her forehead was bare. A member of the main household? The answer came to me fast and sharply.

Hisashi's future wife. Mother of Hinata and Hanabi. My own future matriarch.

That begged a different question. Why did she protect me?

And the words that the little dick said? Fuck him, At least it will be okay to hang around the Uchihas. I shrugged before my feet then brought me straight to Kakashi's house, bouncing the thoughts around in my head.

I was surprised to find my mother's chakra signature at the table with Sakumo's. Kakashi, Obito and Rin were in the living room like usual. Not bothering with identifying the Nin-kin, I opened the door.

"Taidaima," I called, undoing my shoes.

When I looked back up I was frozen in place.

Sitting in front of me was another...

Dog? Wait, that was no Dog.

A silver wolf hound sat in front of me, eyes boring into my soul.

"You must be Sakumo's other Pup." The wolfhound was also apparently a She. "State your name, age, and Rank."

Wait? Pup?

"Reika Hyuga, 8, and Genin?" I couldn't help but ask. My hands slowly moved to place my sandals into their place properly, like the Hokage was judging me.

"Good. Come now, there are some ground rules that we have to discuss with my place in the pack, Reika-Pup." She barked, marching her way into the living room.

I only hesitated for a second completely confused before a voice yelled out.

"Kaiya! Let her get in first, will you?" Sakumo scolded.

That is how I met Kaiya, Sakumo's new partner.

And if you ask me?

She is undoubtedly a Bitch.

-.-

Yo! I'm on time! For once!

I was quite surprised by how easy this chapter came out. All week I've been working on this, and I'm already halfway through chapter 29 too. The 40cm of snow and official snow day for most of Montreal probably helped! That or the anxiety of having two midterms that I should be studying for but lack the motivation to. Oh well. Enjoy!

So I should start keeping track of which stories I recommend... Anyway. This weeks is, _Time Travel? What the Fuck?_ by **dragonpyre**. Nearing the end of the Fourth Shinobi War, Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto are about to take down Kaguya but suddenly find themselves in their 12-year-old body. Yes, this plot has been done a few times before. But I love the way **dragonpyre** , develops the characters and has a great balance of serious to funny without it being overbearing or unbelievable.

This week's question? Let's go with the Baby theme because Babies are everywhere right now. I mean I'm writing about Baby Itachi, and to of my cousins just had kids. one with a little girl and the other with twin girls. Babies! So.. the question. If you could be in contact with any character in their baby years within Naruto, who would it be? You guys can probably guess mine is Itachi, or maybe Shikamaru... Can I have both? One for spoiling with sweets while the other will be spoilt with cuddles?

Thank you, everyone, for your support! It means the world, and I am always looking forward to hearing your feedback.

Until next time,  
Ravenmocker6

 **Bored411** , There are still a few kinks in the bow and arrow theory, but it will come into play soon enough. And your wish is my command. Not too bad eh? Both the mission with Minato and Kakashi and Kaiya's introduction!

 **Dark Rose Charm** , Haha, that would be cute. But you will see what I have planned soon enough. Shisui... Oh, Shisui. That boy, I have such a plan for him... But it is all takes place years into the future... but I'll try to cook something up sooner for you within the next few chapters.

 **Reginleif2004** , Thank you for reading and for the feedback. You bring up some very good points that I have not thought of, Thank you! So the goal of the bow is not to be used in close range, by the time the enemy is in range to hit her, she should have the time to fold it back up, especially if she does not miss her first shot. My whole goal of giving her a bow is the long-range aspect to it rather than for using it close range. I was reading up on it online and it was saying that a short bow can shoot 250m. I figure that gives her enough time to fold it back. As for the weight balance, it actually shocked me that I didn't think of that. But the only way that could be fixed it to get used to the fighting with it, and she will eventually adapt to having her left arm heavier. As for arrows, I was thinking a quiver on her lower back, near her kunai pouch, this way she is already somewhat used to going there for her throwing weapons, that it will be automatic. But again, as the years go on, she is going to find tricks that will better her use of it. I have not given everything away because that would spoil some things. If you think of anything else, don't be shy. I like it when people test my theories, this way either it is wrong and I have to change it, or I am able to successfully defend my point and can keep it. Thank you again!

 **I'mAlsoAWe** , With this chapter... Itachi being a little brother is a given! Honestly, she does have perfect Chakra control, but I do not see her doing it. I do not think Reika has the personality to heal people so that they can continue to fight leaving her to heal others. No, Reika is and always will be a front line fighter. She is like Naruto in that aspect or Luffy from One Piece. If anyone is searching for her in a fight, She will always be in the thick of it creating mayhem in any way she can.

 **SkullWolfSteam** , Yo! Thanks! Danzo is quite a particular character, and as much as I hate him, I like him as a character. I don't think Danzo will ever try and get her into root per se, as long as she is being used to her full potential. But he will be back, don't worry about that.

 **Megabyte97** , Aww! I love reading your comments!  
Okay, I get where you are coming from. But I still stick by it. I will not pretend and say 'Reika is in Anbu so she must be somewhat trustworthy.' When Reika is doing her chores, in the last few chapters, Neko/Fugaku was standing by her, watching her work. So the other Anbu members don't need to trust her. All they have to do is trust that Neko would never let anything happen to their gear. Second thing is that They are Anbu and their 'lockers' are not really lockers. They do not have locks. So literally anyone could go into the lockers unless they trap them, but they wouldn't do that if they gave their uniforms to wash. And the third thing is. Why worry about the 8-year-old initiate doing something to your uniform? Whatever this kid would know how to do, there are chances you would be able to undo it easily. So in my point of view, there is no doubt the Anbu members could always check over their armor and uniform. This isn't Reika sharpening their weapons for them, weapons would be a big no-no. You only give your weapon to those you trust 100%. And if you are not comfortable with giving your armor in? That is okay, it isn't a rule that she is the only one who can wash the clothes. Like Yoshino and her mother don't give in their armor. Anyway, that is what I think.  
I know exactly what you mean! I love being able to write that distinction. Like Swan could be sent out to massacre the children of high class individuals, and she feels nothing, gets changed out of her uniform, becomes Satomi and goes home to her 8-year-old daughter so similar to the children she just killed and is able to hug her and talk to her like normal because as you said. It was not Satomi who killed the children, it was Hakucho-taicho who did it. But it is important to note. I mean when you do shit like that, you have to find a medium, a divide which disassociates yourself from the actions. This is just the way of Anbu. Again, I love it! It gives me chills!  
Kaiya! The main reason I added her in, is as a closing point to Sakumo's healing. He lost all his dogs in that mission, and almost took his life with the guilt of failing the mission and losing all his partners. So getting a new partner is the end to his healing process. I'll take a look at the story you were talking about. I've actually never heard of a story where he gets a new partner, call me curious.  
Bonus. Thank you. You asked for it, and I delivered. It was interesting writing it too. Getting that bit of fluff between Kushina and Minato too. It was rightfully called for, and I'm so glad I wrote it. Thank you again, and if you have any more requests, let me know.  
I'm quite glad I am not dead either. That would suck. Haha!  
Thanks and looking forward to your next review!

 **GreyMoon. Huntress** , Thanks! Yeah, her mom was long overdue to come back to the village. She had been gone for like 5 months easy. Itachi! I can't wait to start writing the brat! He's going to be so cute! And Reika is going to corrupt him so much! Reika is also going to fight as much as she can for Team 7 and all of her friends, even the ones she doesn't know very well. By the way, I like knowing that you can't tell what is going to happen. It makes reading your comments so much more fun, so enjoy!

 **Girl-luvs-manga** , My pleasure. I'll see if I can add some other P.O.V as well in the future.

 **KaYenn** , Really? All the chapters in one day? Seriously? You must read fast! Just looking on my Word Document, I'll well over 500 pages into the story. Just this chapter is over 10k of words. Mitsuki? Is that in Boruto? I haven't started the series yet, and I'm kinda scared to. Let me know what you think? YES! Naruto and little chubby whisker cheeks! How can anyone be scared of them! I would hug him and never let go! There really is a lot of lovable characters in Naruto. That I admit.

 **orlha** , Thank you! Like I told a few others, the bow is not going to go off without a problem or two. I'm not trying to make Reika indestructible and overpowered. So there will be a couple of speed bumps, and in a couple of years, she'll have it down. Don't worry about that. Thanks for reviewing.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29- My Vow

Inhale 10

Hold 20

Exhale 5

I kept swinging my right leg back and forth. My arms in a straight line, fingers pointing up.

178

179

180

With a hiss, I let my leg drop and switched positions before doing the same for the other leg.

Despite how much I wanted to bash her face in, that Maiko kid helped me think.

Neigong.

Getting reborn, and living the first couple of years on my knees then on unstable legs, I had completely forgotten about the art.

Yeah, I know. It's not that interesting. Repetitive movements that help circulate good energy.

The idea was to do intervals of 9 up to 360 if you could manage it. It was a full circle so that your energy has been forced all over your body. This clears all pathways and unclogs blockades.

Remember what I said? This chi energy is almost identical to chakra.

Which mean, that when that Kumo bitch uses the technique, she is pretty much invincible to my Hyuuga techniques.

Inhale 10

Hold 20

Exhale 5

180.

I let my leg drop and felt my muscle protest.

My right hand placed itself on my belly button, with my left on top, I forced out more breaths. I walked around as I focused my energy, my chakra all into my coils.

I remembered the sensation from Before, but it was nothing compared to now. It shot out from my core, warming my body and the feeling of excitement but calming at the same time. It is a strange mix.

But now, with this physical power the flows through me…

"It makes me feel powerful," I whispered to myself.

"Oi, Wake up Pups!"

I blinked out of my thoughts and looked towards the house.

"Five more minutes…" I heard Kakashi say from inside.

"Did you say something Rei?" Rin said, popping her head out of the kitchen.

I shook my head and went inside, wiping the sweat from my face.

One sniff and I knew that breakfast was almost ready.

"No! Kaiya!" Kakashi whined again and I looked over at the other female.

"Kaiya is already at it?" I answered. "I thought we still had an hour or so."

Rin distributed four plates of breakfast before pointed to the outside with her spatula.

"You were already out there when I got up." She told me. "Kaiya told me you've been out there for 2 hours, Reika."

"Don't you Kaiya me! It is your fault for staying up late last night when I told you four to sleep!" she barked like the dog she was. "It's time for our morning warm-up!"

Another moan answered us, and Rin and I tried not to snicker.

I heard nails jumping onto something. And not long after Obito screeched.

"Kaiya!"

A bang answered my question and I could only guess that Kaiya had pushed Obito off the couch and onto Kakashi.

"Ow! When was the last time you took a shower?" Kakashi growled and we failed to hold it in. "Your feet stink!"

Rin and I walked passed the hallway and moved into the door to openly laugh at the boys.

"Oh, shut up!" Obito moaned back.

Their limbs were sprawled out all over each other and they were low key glaring at each other.

"Good you are up." Rin grinned from next to me. "Sakumo-san already left, so I made us breakfast."

I watched as our new addition jumped off the couch and lounged her way to Rin's side, leaning into her for scratchies.

"Get up already, we will be leaving in 25 minutes."

It was clear who the favorite 'pup' was. Over the last few months, Kaiya has incorporated herself into our big dysfunctional family, and it was clear that she wasn't planning on leaving any time soon.

Still slightly sleepy, we ran through the motions of the day, getting dressed, eating, and heading out the door.

All of us, the dogs, Kakashi, Obito, Rin and I followed Kaiya out for our morning run around the village at her command, because the only way to shut her up is to do it.

By the end, we were all sweating, Obito and Rin gasping for their breath. All five of Kakashi's dogs were just happy to get a run deciding that now was a good time to play and jump all over each other.

"Alright, have a nice day, Pups." Kaiya got up and, letting her silver and black tinting hide her as walked into the trees. With the 'pups' awake and out of bed, she was now able to go back to Sakumo's side.

Straightening I couldn't help but smile.

Sakumo was definitely not the most authoritative when it came down to us, that was where Kaiya established herself.

Being both strong and resilient she didn't put up with our laziness and pushed us hard.

She kind of reminded me of Fugaku.

Speaking of the man. The counterattack had been a success, with only a few losses on our side, and complete annihilation of their fort in frost, the only country that separated us. Where did I get this info? That was one thing I like about being Anbu. Information goes through the grape vines so much faster, all you had to do was listen in Anbu.

"Let's go back, I want to relax before I have to go out for my mission with Minato-sensei," Kakashi muttered to his nin-ken. I almost snorted at his attitude, as he was still a bit peeved at being woken up.

"I'll go with you!" Rin called catching up with him. "But I was wondering if you could help me with my kunai and shuriken. I'm not getting the results I want."

Kakashi shrugged.

"As long as don't have to run a few kilometers again, sure."

And then I was left with Obito who was grinning at me.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

Smirking I motioned for him to take the lead and followed him down the street.

"Do you think Miko-chan got any bigger?" he asked me, his arms folded behind his head.

"We saw her yesterday, Obi." I snorted. "She will probably be the same size."

But I could understand where he was coming from.

It was May. The 26th of May, and in two weeks, Itachi would be born. So it seemed more than ever that Mikoto was inflating like a balloon.

We got to the main house in record time and knocked twice, before walking right in.

"Good morning!" Mikoto called as we reached the kitchen. She sat on the patio stairs, rubbing her belly. And it was a belly indeed.

While Obito moved towards her, I mixed together the tea she half made.

"My baby cousin giving you trouble?" Obito grinned as he sat beside her.

"Your baby cousin is being evicted soon." She grumbled.

I snickered and moved to her other side and poured the tea for us, using the skills she had almost beat into me these past few months.

At month six, she stopped coming to the Anbu headquarters. But after clearing it with Sakumo, She was given the okay to train me at her place, with the non-physical arts, such as theory, formations, etiquette which I had missed in the academy, and Genjutsu, while my mother focused on my physical training.

"You should be proud of him, Mikoto-san." I snarked passing the cups of tea to Obito and her. "I think he is already training to be a great ninja."

She gave me a smile.

"With how much this one is moving around, I wouldn't be surprised."

Almost as if to confirm the words, I caught a movement from her belly.

"Little one, please stop sticking your feet in my ribs!" she hissed rubbing her side.

Obito and I laughed again.

"So what can we do to help you today?" Obi asked and I dreaded the moment she opened her mouth.

"Well if you don't mind I do have a few things…"

And we did them all.

Cleaning the bathrooms, doing her laundry, fixing some things in the baby room we had already set up the month before, running to get groceries.

And we were about to put them away when Rin came knocking on the door.

"Obito!" she growled. "You are going to be late for the academy!"

My teammate in making sure Mikoto was comfortable, screeched and blushed before he ran over to give his cousin and her baby a goodbye before he was out the door.

"You know," I told her once the house became pleasantly silent.

"I think he hangs out with Kushina-sensei without our knowledge."

Mikoto chuckled before she slipped off the balcony and climbed the stairs. well, Wobbled her way to me.

"Here, let me help, you guys have been a savior for me." I brushed her off and nodded to the door

"I'll finish up, you take advantage of this."

She gave me a smile.

"What am I learning today?" I asked.

She opened her mouth as I put away the last of the food, and I dreaded what came out from her mouth next.

"We are going to be practicing your henge characters."

Acting?

Great…

-.-

Both of us froze, my henge falling, as we recognized the chakra.

"Taidaima." A voice muttered.

Let me tell you, for a pregnant woman who was about to pop, she moved fast.

"Fugaku!" She flew from the room and I heard a bang.

Confused, I got up and followed her at a slower pace.

"Did you have to tackle me?" I heard a grumble from the doorway, and I couldn't stop the smile that ran across my lips.

Mikoto had trapped her husband against the wall with a hug.

"Okari!" she smiled, a tear falling down her cheeks.

I left the two alone before moving towards the kitchen.

Once the Tea had been once again prepared and was on the porch for the two and I fixed up some Rice-balls, knowing full well that Fugaku was probably hungry after his few months gone.

"Did you actually give her a key?" The deadpanned voice said from the door to the kitchen.

"Not yet." Mikoto laughed before she grabbed his hand, leading to where I had put the food. "But she has been a great help, so I might consider it."

His black eyes narrowed at me and I couldn't help but grin back.

"Had to make her agree to Nee-chan rights somehow." I teased.

Fugaku rolled his eyes without saying anything, he grabbed a cup and a rice ball.

"Obi-kun and her have been by almost every day since my 6th month to help me with things since I can't bend down anymore." Mikoto caught his attention and I could see the way his eyes soften ever so slightly for her.

"Oh?" Fugaku's eyes trailed down to her belly, and his hand reached out to touch it. "My child has been a little mischievous?"

Mikoto bit out a laugh.

"A little?" she hissed. "He's been playing with my ribs! And before he turned he would shove his little foot in my pelvis!"

"He?"

At that moment, Fugaku looked more like an owl than a cat.

That made Mikoto smile.

"That doctors confirmed it, but I was used to calling him before, because of that one here." I grimaced and finished up the dishes fast. "Rei-chan has been calling our child him since the first day I met her."

I could feel the heat from the back of my head.

"I feel as if you are getting a bit too involved with my family." He muttered. Smiling, I finished wiping the counter.

"Just wait till he is born." My grin couldn't be any wider. "Then I'll be surely taking advantage of Nee-chan rights, and you won't be able to get rid of me, since that would make your little boy sad."

Looking over my shoulder, I saw him grit his teeth and glare at me.

"Go home." He growled.

I couldn't help but smile but figured they earned some alone time.

"I won't be able to come over for the next few days, Mikoto-san, but I'll stop by later in the week."

She grinned and waved.

"Home, brat." Fugaku insisted.

"I'm going!"

"Not Sakumo's." he insisted. "Home."

Blinking, I looked underneath the underneath.

Otou-san must be back as well.

-.-

He was waiting for me at home, cleaned up and sitting at the table with my mother, talking.

It was a scene I didn't even realize I missed.

"Taidaima," I called to them from the door.

Both eyes snapped over to me in surprise.

"Reika."

I made my way to my father and hugged him.

"We heard about the 'raid.'" I sat on the cushion next to him. "I'm glad you guys are okay."

He blinked in surprise and looked over at my mother.

"You told her about that? That was Anbu grade info."

I closed my mouth with a click and decided it was the best time to disappear.

"Going into the shower!"

But my hasty retreat was successfully halted.

"Not this time, Reika." Okaa-san's voice meant business. "Come back here."

Cursing in a different language, I dragged myself back to the cushion.

"What is the matter?" My father asked, his words laced with worry.

Dread filled me, and I sighed.

Looking my mother in the eye she nodded to my father.

Scowling I looked between them before changing my expression into one of pleading.

Why can't you do it?

"What happened?" my father said, his voice was even, and unimpressed.

"You are considered an Adult now Reika, you can tell him yourself." She called me out.

"I thought I wasn't supposed to tell anyone." I bit back.

"Your father doesn't count."

Shit.

You know he is already Anbu, went unsaid between us.

What was the last thing that he was told?

My team?

No, it was my freak out.

I wonder if Okaa-san knew about that?

"You realize you are just making it worse by dragging it out right?" My father said, his arms on the table.

Yeah. I know.

So, I'll say it.

Like ripping off a bandaid.

Inhale 10

Hold 20

Exhale 5

"I'm in Anbu."

Two things happened in that instant.

My father's face dropped, his eyes widening in horror.

And my mother's hand connected with her face.

"You have no tact…" my mother sighed.

I shrugged.

"You wanted me to tell him, so I did."

"What?" my father looked between us. Fear was written all over his face. "Explain, Now!"

"Calm down, Hizashi. She is an Initiate, not a full member." Okaa-san continued.

He took a deep breath before unclenching his hands.

"And how did this come to be?" I could hear the anger in his voice. "And explain it properly."

And so I did. Starting with the day at Ken'ichi's when Danzo confronted me, Sakumo coming home and making it in time to intervene. To him talking to the Hokage, until today, where I've been a glorified chore-girl with combat and basic infiltration training from first Fugaku then Mikoto.

"No wonder you have become so blunt." He muttered. "You really have been around Fugaku too much."

Blinking, I realized that I had not told them the latest news. So I said just that, trying to break the ice, even just a bit.

"Mikoto gave me Nee-san rights to Fugaku's and her child!" I grinned.

This time it was my father's turn to facepalm.

"I remember you say something about that at camp."

He sighed rubbing his shoulder and looking at me with a serious expression.

"I hate to say this, but it might be for the best." He theorized. "You in Anbu I mean."

This immediately did not sound like a good thing if my mother's expression was anything.

"What do you mean?"

"Danzo is known for prowling around the clan trying to grab the most prodigy children to turn them into the village's weapon. This is not the first time he's done it, and it won't be the last. His organization has too much success to be completely outlawed during this time of war. So with Reika in Anbu, this protects her, and will push her into discovering her potential."

His eyes met my mothers and I could see the sadness and slight panic she tried so hard to hide.

"Like it or not. Our little girl has grown up fast. And her situation doesn't help anything."

My mother's shoulders shook a bit and she turned away, trying not to let it show.

"Sakumo did what he could, I'm thankful for that. But that does not mean I would let Danzo do what he wants. If she was taken, I would fight until my last breath to get my little girl back."

This made me smile sadly, shifting over until I was hugging my father.

"Thank you, Otou-san."

Kissing my forehead he got up off the ground.

"Go take your shower now, my daughter. I have somewhere to be."

-.-

"Hm."

I rolled my eyes before twirling the hammer in my hand.

"Hmm."

Annoyance rose inside me.

"Hmmm."

"What?" I growled. "it's my first try."

Ken'ichi smiled, and I realized he was doing it just to pull my leg.

"Well, you will never rival the blacksmith who made the Seven Swords of the mist." He told me.

This caused me to roll my eyes.

"I'm not trying to, Ken-Shishou," I muttered.

He moved a tad closer to the entrance of the workshop and looked at the blade of the sword in the light.

It was the most basic thing that could be, and even looking at it from this far away made me want to cringe.

"Hm."

"Can you stop with the 'hms' already" I snapped, my nerves making me angry. I got up and followed him to the entrance where he was chuckling.

"Here." He tossed it to me and I barely had the time to catch the bare hilt.

"What was that for!" my eye twitched.

His arm raised itself and pointed to the metal pole that stood in the middle of the ore yard. A couple of birds were busying themselves with pecking at the birdfeeder that was attached.

"Cut the pole." He told me.

I blinked in surprise before looking down at the piece of shit in my hands.

"Are you kidding me?" I asked. "It will break."

He motioned again.

Rolling my eyes I took a step forward and readied my stance. Left hand on the handle, right hand cupping the pommel.

"And remember what I said, Reika. The sword has to be as strong as the user."

Huffing, I concentrated before making a single strike at the pole. Following the diagonal line from shoulder to hip, wrists in a 90-degree angle, torsion with the core of the body.

A loud ringing made me hiss and cup my right ear. The birds didn't seem to like it either, as they all took off.

But still, the pole stood, straight and narrow, looking so incredibly innocent but indestructible.

Looking down, I was even more surprised to note that my sword was not damaged.

The only evidence that I had tried it was the light scuff mark in the blade and a tiny chip.

"Not too bad." My teacher hummed, before taking the blade back. he held it up again before humming. "With some practice, we will make a mediocre blacksmith of you yet."

I followed him back into the shop and he put the sword back onto the anvil.

"You need to practice your hand some more. There are too many bumps, and the blade isn't smooth and sharp enough." He instructed.

I bit my tongue from snapping at him again and sat down.

"But overall not to bad. A useless weapon would have snapped on that pole."

I guess that is as much praise as I was going to get today.

-.-

Loud banging on my front door woke me the next morning.

I wasn't expected to be anywhere, and my parents were already gone doing who knows what, so I had the place to myself.

But what I wanted to know most of all, is who was banging at my door at 6:30 am on my day off. Not even Kaiya had woken me up yet.

Too lazy to get up and answer it to find out, I turned on my Dojutsu and got the shock of my life.

"Open up Rei!" I heard from outside.

Hurriedly, I barely had time to fix my sleeping wear and opened the door.

"Kushina-sensei?" I asked, thoroughly confused. "Why are you here?"

She pretty much pushed her way into my house and made herself welcome.

"Get dressed." She grinned.

"Why?" I asked again. "It's my day off."

She snorted.

"You are a ninja, you never have a day off."

Since it was Kushina we are talking about, I left her at my house and went to my bedroom to get dressed.

Only once I had all my gear did I reemerge. Kushina was having fun swinging her feet back and forth on the porch, the door wide open.

"So? Are you going to tell me what we are doing?" I asked her.

"Training." She told me with a hum. "Then we are getting Ichiraku."

I snorted, but locked the door and following her to a training ground.

Touching down on Training ground 6 was more of a shock than anything else.

It still felt normal. So normal that my Byakugan immediately activated and I found the regular seal two kilometers east of my location.

"Is there a reason we are at this training ground," I asked my old teacher.

She smiled sadly before throwing a kunai half-heartedly. I dodged it easily and raised an eyebrow.

"Up for a game of tag?" she asked.

I worked my shoulders a few times before moving my neck.

"But, I'm not warmed up yet," I complained, but I knew it was no use.

A grin spread across her face, covering up any negative emotion she had and she moved in for the attack.

I would be lying if I said it wasn't fun.

Wiping off blood from the cut on my face, I controlled my breathing and tried to calm my erratic heartbeat.

"You've gotten good!" Kushina grinned. She collapsed, and yes, I said collapsed next to me.

I thought of it as a win, seen as how she had unlimited stamina like Naruto would eventually have.

We had come pretty far in our game of tag, spilling into the next training ground, trying to tackle the other to the ground.

I leaned up against the warm rock and Kushina traced the words on it.

"I had a nightmare last night." She started, honest and her voice was so low I barely heard it.

We had spilled into Training Ground Seven.

It was the memorial stone.

I closed my eyes and tried not to imagine the warmth of the stone to be anything like the warmth of Seiichi's leg perched on me while he slept. Or of Tsubasa's strong back when I wanted to doze after training.

They were gone.

"I miss them."

I didn't have to open my eyes to know she was touching their names.

"I do too," I muttered back.

-.-

 _I was back on top of that building, looking out to those same dusk clouds._

 _Her voice carried, somewhat echoing on the clouds._

 _Haunting. Just like she did me._

 _Kind but all so sad. Just like how she lived._

 _"_ _Karoline."_

 _I took a few steps forward and couldn't help but freeze._

 _These hands were not the ones I was used to. Scars decorated the digits and the palms, and it took me a second to recognize them._

 _They were hands of old._

 _When I did, I was suddenly uncomfortable. These weren't my hands._

 _Dropping them, I turned back to my old best friend._

 _"_ _Karoline."_

 _She sat on the edge, her feet dangling once more, but she turned to look at me._

 _"_ _It had been a while."_

 _Unsure what to say, I turned back to the clouds and leaned on the cement edge of the building._

 _So we stayed beside each other, a foot away, not touching, both looking back out to the warm colors of the sky. Both of us trying to find words._

 _"_ _Do you think you could ever forgive me?" She eventually asked._

 _Without my permission, anger rose up inside me. No. It was Rage._

 _"_ _Forgive you?" I hissed. "You fucking kill yourself and you want me to forgive you?"_

 _I laughed in disbelief._

 _"_ _I was going to make this better. Despite the shitty situation with my mother and brother, I didn't have to fucking leave. I did it, I got the place, and I enter the cage fighting to get you out of your shit hole and you shit on me by killing yourself!" I gestured to myself and glared at her. "You were the only thing keeping me from going insane and you fucking well abandoned me!"_

 _I felt my fingernails sink into my skin and I couldn't help but feel the fantom pain of the cut, and the blood that flowed out of it._

 _"_ _Now you ask if I can forgive you?"_

 _She never reacted to my outburst, and I didn't know if I liked it. This anger of mine, it was searching for a reaction, for an opening in which I could sock her a good one._

 _Then all of a sudden that person I once was, she calmed down. And she started to think of it rationally._

 _Sakumo and the cage fights._

 _"_ _I hate you for it," I whispered, trying to stop the stinging of my eyes. "But I can understand why you did it."_

 _I looked away as she turned her head, finally giving me her full attention._

 _"_ _You never wanted to show your weakness in front of me. Because you felt as if I needed you more then what your troubles were worth. When your problems escalated, you saw how much I was reacting to them, and you felt guilty. When it became too much, you decided to end it."_

 _Her choked sobs were the only things I could hear, and I listen to all of it._

 _"_ _But I will forgive myself_

 _And start to let it go_

 _Accept that who you chose to be_

 _Was out of my control_

 _And though it might be hard_

 _To begin again_

 _I'll write myself a brand-new story_

 _With a happy end_

 _I survived_

 _So tonight_

 _I am taking back my life_

 _And I'll show you_

 _That I am not nothing!"_

-.-

"Reika?"

My eyes snapped open and I blinked past blurry eyes.

"What time is it?" I asked, rubbing them, hiding the evidence of me crying.

"Lunchtime," Kushina said next to me, worry twisting on her expression.

"K." I got up and stretched my arms, shaking the tiered out of me. "When did I fall asleep?"

The red-head smiled sadly before walking in front of me.

"About an hour ago." She told me.

"And you didn't wake me before?" I asked.

Shrugging she led me out of the grounds.

"I figured you could use the sleep." She replied.

Our trip to Ichiraku was short, but just enough time for me to wake up.

"Here you go! Two bowls of Ramen for my favorite customers!" Teuchi replied, a wide grin on his face. "And they are both on the house today!"

Our face's lit up in surprise.

"Where did this come from?" I asked.

"Not that we are complaining," Kushina said hurriedly.

I tried to smirk at her desperation to get a free meal.

"Found out yesterday that my wife is pregnant." He grinned.

"Woot!" Kushina jumped out of her seat. "Congratulations!"

Her smile matched his own, and I couldn't help but be happy too.

"Yeah! I can't wait until the child is born!"

Born eh?

Sakumo mentioned Tsume had given birth two months ago and has been working hard to go back into the field as soon as possible. Tied with Sakumo as the best tracker-nin in the village, we needed her soon.

And Itachi will be born soon too.

The world as I knew it was coming quick, and I couldn't wait.

I want to make a difference.

All so that maybe, just maybe,

Their life will suck less.

-.-

It was a few days later that I would be able to properly spend time with my father.

Which was odd, because despite having trained with him a lot when I was young, I hadn't trained with him since.

"Otou-san." I looked around the dark forest. "Why are we here?"

Imagine my surprise when I was woken up at 3:00 am and told to get dressed.

We touched down in the forest, and I couldn't help but feel nervous, despite the number of times I have been in this particular one with Sakumo and Kakashi.

Training ground 44.

"Despite being born seconds later than my brother, I was labeled a branch member, while Hiashi became part of the main house." He began. "Because of this, our father tried to keep us as far away as possible to create a distance between us, and to make me more submissive."

I had not been expecting this.

He took some steps ahead of me creating a large enough space between us.

"But there was something he did not take into account." His eyes met mine. "We are twins. Identical twins. And the hardest thing to do is to separate people who have shared the same sack."

Crossing my arms, I tried to understand what his point was about this.

They were twins separated and raised in different roles.

"We would often meet at night, far away from the compound and from prying eyes." It almost sounded like a confession. As if this was the first time he told someone about this.

"We would train, showing each other different moves, and becoming better shinobi, together as brothers."

"What are you getting at, Otou-san?" I asked, not comprehending.

"There are moves I'm only allowed to use in the company of Anbu, as anything that happens inside is secret. For fear that the main house would find out and punish me for it, I have to keep it there."

Slowly it started to click. Hiashi showed my father the techniques of the main house.

Holy shit.

No wonder Neji was so good, if Hizashi was showing him all the main house techniques, or even just left him the techniques when he died.

"I'm going to teach you something, and the same thing is going to have to apply to you." He instructed. "Only use it in Anbu."

He got into his stance, a fair amount of room between us and he activated his BYakugan.

"The first step is to gather chakra to every single chakra point simultaneously."

I activated my own and watched the world become grey-scale. Blue flooded his system becoming even more pronounced from each of his 365 tenketsu points.

"The second step is to release a steady stream of chakra out into the air around you."

I watched as the stream was a constant flow, moving out into the air and spreading out the further it got away from him.

"Third step is to keep it steady as you spin."

The ultimate defense within the Gentle first style.

Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation.

My father span and I grounded myself as a blue solid circle enclosed him, cutting away the rock from under him as well.

It was powerful, and I couldn't believe that it was happening.

Shocked was an understatement.

"I know what Anbu missions are like. To classify as an Anbu mission it must be at least A-rank or up, and a failure rate of over 70%." He told me. "So if you are going to be taken on them one day, I want you to have this under your belt so that you have some sort of defense."

He paused in his speech and looked me over. Like a father, just trying to protect his daughter.

"Do you need to be shown again?" He asked.

I nodded and settled in for a long night.

This might end up being my next obsession.

-.-

Kaiya caught me when I was doing some chores.

"Come with me, Pup."

Shrugging I did what she asked, and we took off at a run to the top of headquarters.

The door was already open and I noticed Sakumo strapping up his armor.

"Okami-taicho," I asked in professionalism.

A sheet of paper was shot at me and I grabbed it just in time that it didn't hit me.

"I need you to gather the people on that sheet and tell them to head to the Hokage's office asap."

His tone was serious so I quickly did as was asked.

My heart pounded as I read over the list fast, seeing a total of 6 people on my list, and all but one I knew personally.

So, I went for the closest first, slipping on my mask.

My knuckles rapped on the window to the apartment I hadn't been in forever, already recognizing the occupants to be home.

Minato was the one to open it and with one look at me, he called Kushina.

"Hokage-sama has called a meeting asap, for both of you," I told them before disappearing with the shunshin.

I was on official business and by the tone Sakumo had, this was serious.

My next stop was another apartment, and the name made me shift, but again I didn't have time to hesitate. The window opened just as fast to the mug of my academy teacher.

"Forgive the intrusion, Umino-san." I started, and his eyes dilated but he kept a straight face. "I need to speak with Kohari-san."

He nodded and picked up a 4-year-old Iruka before moving from the room.

Kohari, already in full uniform, moved into the room soon after.

"Hokage-sama called a meeting asap Suzume," I told her. She placed her sparrow mask on her face.

"Affirmative." And with a shunshin, she was gone.

The next movement took me to the Nara compound.

A few months ago, I knew she was familiar, but didn't know from where. But now I had a name to go with the Meka mask.

"Sandaime-sama is summoning, Meka," I instructed Yoshino Nara.

"Got it, Squirt." She dismissed closing the window on me.

I jumped down and moved north-west to another house I knew pretty damn well.

Stepping into the territory, I was suddenly self-conscious of my lack of scent control training. There was no way Tsume would not know it's me.

I took a deep breath and followed the cry of a newborn.

The window was open, so I didn't have to knock. Not that I would have to, she could probably smell me a mile away.

"Inu, the Hokage has called you to his office asap."

"Really? I was just put back on the rooster yesterday!" she grumbled. Her eyes looked me up and down and she huffed.

"Those clothes don't do you justice, brat." She barked before she put her child down in the crib and called out for her wolf.

"Go get Keigo, Kuromaru. Tell him it is his time to take care of his daughter! I have to work."

I disappeared ignoring the comment she gave as well.

My last stop was probably the hardest. But with her being outside, at least I didn't have to knock on my own window.

"Hakucho-taicho. The Hokage has called a meeting asap."

My mother took one look at me and then she was no longer there. It was the Anbu captain.

"Understood."

I was impressed by the switch in personality that it took me a second to realize she had disappeared.

Curiosity fueled my next actions as I made my way to the top of the Hokage tower. I landed on top and waited for the meeting to end. Any other time that run would not have been too hard. But I had to act the part. Running full speed, but hiding my presence as 'Anbu are not supposed to be noticed'.

I couldn't feel their chakra fo the Anbu in the office, but I could sense their presence. They were still there, so no doubt they also knew I was there.

The thought was confirmed when the group of Anbu and two nin-ken shushined out of the office and onto the roof.

"Let Kakashi know I'm being sent out," Okami-taicho said as he and Kaiya passed by me.

I nodded and watched as they split into two teams. One led by Okami-taicho consisting of Anbu operatives Kitsune or Kushina, Chita or Minato, and Suzume. In the other group, it was led by Hakucho-taicho, with Meka, Inu with Kuromaru and a mysterious new operative I had never seen before with a Takumi mask.

My masked face met that of Hakucho and she gave me the tiniest of nods, one in which I returned.

The next moment, had them vanished along with their orders. Alone, I couldn't help but wonder what must have happened to make 8 Anbu, which included the Anbu commander, leave the village in under 20 minutes.

I took one more breath before I got up and made my way back to the headquarters. I'm sure there was some type of chore I could do there to keep me occupied.

-.-

"What are you three doing here?"

Slowly, but surely I pulled the small rectangular block out from the wooden tower in front of us.

It wavered ever so slightly but did not fall.

I ignored the angry Uchiha at the door and replaced the piece on top of the tower.

"Ah! Hello Anata." Mikoto said, her face twitching in discomfort, from her place on the couch. She was sitting in her kimono, legs spread and hands rubbing her underbelly.

We let her deal with her husband and concentrated on the game.

Obito was next in line, as his fingers nudged the next wooden stick out. He finally let out his breath when he successfully replaced it.

Rin bit her lip as she studied the holey tower.

She was just about to reach for it when a stomping Uchiha moved next to us. The tower fell onto the ground and all three of us turned to glare at the Uchiha Patriarch.

"Answer me," he growled.

"Oh Sorry!" Rin said, nerves showing in her voice. "We were playing Jenga. Did you want to join?"

I coughed and gathered the pieces snickering.

"And you messed it up! We were going on three hours!" I complained. Obito looked at me eyes wide and shaking his head as if I should stop everything I was doing.

"I do not care what you were doing, why are you in my house!" he bit.

I peeked a look at Mikoto and she hid her laughter under her hand.

"We were keeping your wife company," I answered as I helped Obito replace the pieces in a tower. Each layer of three, perpendicular to the layer under.

"I am due any day now, Fugaku." She pointed out, her hands not leaving her belly.

He snorted, before leaving the living room and climbing the stairs.

"So how is the hospital work going?" I asked Rin as she took the first turn.

"Hospital?" Mikoto asked shocked.

"I'm planning on becoming a medical-nin so I've been getting as many hours at the hospital I can for the past few years," Rin told the matriarch. "This is probably one of the reasons why these two dragged me to come here today since today is your due date."

Obito coughed, playing fast before looking away.

I also refused to look at my sempai and took my turn.

"Is that right?" Mikoto said, before wincing.

That made both Obito and I shoot our heads up.

"Is it the baby?" Obito shot. Ready to pounce into action if needed.

This caused Mikoto to laugh. "You know Obito-kun, it is rare for a child to come out on the date that the doctors give." Rin scolded before taking two fingers and removing the last piece in the line, shooting it directly into a wall so that the tower dropped straight down. "I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't come for the next few days."

I blinked and watched as Rin reached over to grab it.

Fucking Ninja.

But it wasn't the first time this happened either. Obi and Rin have done that multiple times if the wall directly opposite of me was anything to account for. Little dents decorated the bottom of the white paint, and I hoped that Fugaku never caught wind of it. Mikoto didn't seem to care, or rather did not notice, too occupied with her belly.

"Aw, I want my little cousin to come now!" he pouted.

I laughed, before pointing at him.

"If he comes today, at least we can say he will take after his Nee-chan rather then his Nii-san," I told them. "Since you are always late."

"Ha ha ha," Obito stressed each symbol.

And Rin giggled next to us.

"Well, if I have anything to do with it, he will not take from either of you," Fugaku stated, coming back, in a kimono, his hair dripping wet.

"That isn't very nice, Fugaku-sensei," I stated, watching Obito silently grab another piece.

"Like I care." He walked around us, with less stomping and sat on the couch next to his wife.

We played more turns, going back and forth, joking and having fun while Fugaku complained to Mikoto about the paperwork that was left with him at the force and us being too rowdy.

"Mikoto?" He asked as she didn't respond for the seventh time.

I replaced my piece of Jenga and looked over, to see her, a worried expression on her face. Suddenly she snapped back and looked over at her husband.

"Oh sorry." She said, smiling worriedly over at her husband.

"Are you okay?" Obito asked from next to me moving around the game to go to her side.

"Uh, yeah?" her hand went unconsciously to her back.

"Are you sure?" Fugaku asked, eyes narrowing.

I'll be honest, I was lost for most of it, not understand what was happening. But I'll tell you what I do remember. And that was Rin taking charge.

"Did your water break?" Rin asked getting up and pushing Obito to the side.

"Uh." She blinked again, a bit lost but massaged her back some more.

Fugaku and I both looked down at the same time, noticing how wet the couch and her kimono was.

"I think that was a yes?" I stated the obvious.

And something that I was well aware of but had never seen happened.

Rin went into nurse mode.

"Fugaku-san, was the plan to do a home birth?" Rin said pushing the game out of the way and looked over Mikoto with a keen eye.

"What? Uh, yes." I think he was just as shocked as Mikoto was.

"What! I thought you said he wasn't coming today!" Obito cried, scratching his head with both his hands.

"Obito, Shut up," Rin ordered, before turning back to Fugaku.

"I've been interning at the hospital for a few years now, and I've helped birth children before. So you are going to need to leave her here while you go get your midwife. I'll have everything prepared for her when she gets here, but please be fast."

Oh shit. Itachi just couldn't wait, could he!

"No," he said stubbornly. "I'm not leaving her here."

He was being defensive. Rin was someone he didn't know and all of a sudden she told him to leave.

"Rin is trustworthy Sensei." I jumped in. "If it counts, I trust her with my life."

He froze and quickly judged my reaction.

"I'll be back as soon as I can." He bit angrily and disappeared.

"Okay, Mikoto-san," Rin called and Mikoto swallowed, clearly unsure of what to do next. "Everything will be okay."

"Obito, you know this house, I need a lot of warm water and a lot of blankets." She instructed and I couldn't help but be impressed. This is her thing.

"Reika."

I blinked back and moved next to her.

"Can you check to see what position he is in while I run through some questions with Mikoto."

Realizing what she wanted me to do, I activated my Byakugan.

Focusing on Mikoto's body, as Rin slowly helped move her into a more comfortable position.

"He is quite low," I told her watching how the baby's head was clearly descending.

Blankets suddenly appeared next to me, and Obito was gone once again.

"How are your contractions?" Rin asked Mikoto and she winced again.

"Regular, and quite painful."

Rin looked over at me, and I took another look at the baby.

"He dropped some more, but not by much."

"Where is he? Show me," she instructed.

I get up off the floor and motioned on Mikoto's lower stomach where the child located.

"All right," Rin grabbed some of the blankets and moved them around Mikoto, placing them under her neck and behind her back. "We will still have to wait a bit for him to be ready."

Obito dropped a large bucket of water on the ground next to Rin and I could see the worry in his eyes.

"Is he being born yet!" he waved his hands over his head and I rolled my eyes.

"Rin said not yet, Obi." Mikoto breathed.

"How are the contractions from a scale of 1-10, ten being the strongest."

"5." She answered and Rin nodded.

"Okay, so 7." She bit her lip and I looked at Rin weirdly.

"But she said 5?" I asked.

"Mikoto-san is also a kunoichi, Reika." Rin lectured, moving a few more things around. "She has a higher pain tolerance than civilian women, so we always rank up the scale."

A bang answered us, and Fugaku and an older Uchiha woman came in.

"Seems our heir is anxious isn't he?" the lady crackled before looking at the situation.

"Seems so." Mikoto breathed, sweat slowly pouring down her face.

The older lady looked at us three before she zeroed in on Rin, who had repositioned the bowl once again.

"You have medical experience." She confirmed. Rin nodded, and not long after Obito and I were kicked out.

"But what if she needs me!" Obito exclaimed and banged at the door.

"Brat!" Fugaku ordered from inside and I rolled my eyes.

My fingers found Obito's earlobe and I pulled him down the hall and into the kitchen.

"Owww! Wait." He tried to remove my hand but I had too much of a good grip.

"Enough, Obi, you are just stressing Mikoto-san out," I replied before making myself at home in the kitchen.

He huffed before starting to pace.

I was well into my second cup of tea when the screaming came. Goosebumps rose on my arms, but I schooled my reaction in order to grab Obito's foot before he could run out of the room.

"Sit," I stressed, and he looked at me pleadingly.

"No," I answered again.

Sighing, he sat properly and I poured him a cup of tea.

"The only thing we can do is wait," I told him.

This didn't mean I wasn't nervous for her or even terrified. I hope there comes a day where I never have to hear it again.

A full hour and two cups of tea later, the little old lady opened the door to the kitchen.

"All done, you two can go see them now."

Obito was the first to get up and run out the door.

"Thanks, Baa-san."

Sighing I got up and slowly moved after him.

I nodded my thanks and passed her.

"And please keep a lid on that boy, don't let him stress her too much."

I gave her a smile, knowing full well what Obito is like and walked away.

Mikoto was leaning back on the couch, sweat pouring off her, but snuggled under blankets.

A soft smiled was pressed to her face. Fugaku sat on the ground next to her, a bundle of blue blankets in his arms.

Obito was kneeling in front of him, looking at baby Itachi with wondrous eyes. Even Rin had a grin on her face. ButI hesitated a second too long.

"Reika."

I looked back up to Mikoto and saw her eyes on me.

"Stop standing there and come here."

Obeying her I stepped closer and moved to Fugaku's side.

Inhale 10

Hold 20

Exhale 5

Itachi was a bit of a chubby kid, with only a few tuffs of black hair. He was sleeping soundly from his ordeal, cuddled up in his blanket and in his father's arms.

"He looks kinda like a potato," Obito said, before he slapped his hand over his mouth, clearly not meaning to have said that out loud.

"A what?" Fugaku deadpanned.

"A kawaii potato?" Obito tried again. Rin and Mikoto laughed at the hole Obito dug himself into.

"For that, you will be the last to hold him."

I swallowed noticing the faint laugh lines on the little one's cheeks.

But he is so small, and pink.

And this little boy will go through so much.

"My son will not bite," Fukagu mentioned and I looked back up to see he was actually talking to me.

I took a few more steps so that I was closer, but once again I couldn't speak.

"Do you want to hold him?" Mikoto said, despite Obito's sulking.

My eyes snapped back up and I was surprised at the panic that followed.

Me? Hold a child that small? I looked back down at my hands and tried not to picture all the blood I had on them.

At this moment, Itachi is so innocent.

"You won't hurt him Reika." Serious onyx eyes caught mine again, and Fugaku shifted towards me. "Sit down."

I don't think sit was the right term.

Ungracefully collapsing, I swallowed my nerves once again, fear coursing through me.

I'll corrupt him.

"Make sure you brace his head, with your arm and keep him close."

My mouth was moving up and down, as the child was almost forced into my arms.

"What's his name?" Obito bounded back in the picture, sitting at my side and looking down at him. Unaware of my dilemma.

"Uchiha Itachi," Mikoto answered, as Fugaku adjusted my arms.

I felt like I was probably looking at him in horror as the newborn body of one of Kohona's worst 'criminals' warmed my arms.

I tried not to move, scared that I would drop him.

"You know, for someone who wanted Nee-chan rights so bad, you are looking terrified at the thought of holding him." Fugaku snorted, clearly amused.

Did he know what was going through my head?

I swallowed and let myself look down at Itachi.

Just in time too.

Little unstable beady black eyes looked up at me.

"Uh, Hi?"

Pretty pathetic for the first words spoken to the future genius, and it would be just my luck if the kid somehow remembered it.

But nothing else mattered as a quiet little squeak came from him, almost as if he was already trying to answer me.

"My name is Reika," I told the little one. "And I'm your Nee-chan. Even if your Father doesn't approve, your Mother gave me the okay."

Ignoring the lump in my throat, I continued to speak to him.

"I will make mistakes here and there, as I'm so far from perfect, and I can't even promise that we won't fight. So I'm sorry in advance."

Stinging in my eyes, and his blurry face surprised me.

"I haven't done this before so please be patient, and don't give up on me."

The tears spilled over before I could suck them up.

"But don't be afraid. You can trust me with anything, and I will always be there for you. So come to me. With all the things you'll hide from your parents. And don't be afraid to drag me into things. Whether it's pranks, buying you extra Dango, or even when you become a shinobi and need help with training."

All the more so when you have to do terrible things, like push yourself through the Academy or becoming an Anbu captain at 13. If you have to kill your clan or join an organization which will try to end the world, just to spy for the village that betrayed you.

"Come to me, Otouto, and I vow to always be here for you."

-.-

Yo!

Sorry for the wait! I wanted to get this out last week, but there were a few parts that I wasn't happy with. Anyhow hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Recommendation: Kakashi's Kid, **Silimaira**. I don't think I recommended this one yet! This story is overloaded with cuteness, and quite funny! Enjoy.

Question: What do you think about Rin and Obito's characters? Out of all the characters, they are the hardest to write for me, but they will be playing very important parts in the story, as you will see next chapter. Anyway, do you guys think I am doing both of them justice?

Thank you all for the reviews, favorites, follows and views!

See you next chapter,  
Ravenmocker6.

P.S. The lyrics to the song Karoline was singing was taken from **Beth Crowley** 's "I am not Nothing."

Edits. March 10th 2019. Thank you **Draco MalfoyGirl 16** for the catch! Without realizing it, I had said that the old lady who delivered Itachi was a wet nurse rather than a midwife. Sorry for the mistake!

 **Dark Rose Charm** , I'm still debating on if I'm going to bring in more then one person, but yes, Maiko is 100% from Before.

 **ImAlsoAWe** , Hard question to answer! Like I said above, I'm not sure if I'm going to add in more then one other reincarnation. I will have to think long and hard about it. In other news, Your wish is my command. Please Welcome Adorable Itachi- The Kawaii Potato!

 **BloodyLoved** , Sorry not sorry! What makes you hate the multiple reincarnation storyline so much? Is it only the upcoming shit storm? The predictability? If that is what gets on your nerves, I have a few twists in mind that I am 99.9999% sure you will not expect! Thank you for letting me know your point of view, and I will try to make sure I weave Maiko into the storyline in a way that makes you stick around! Fukagu is definitely aDORKable!

 **Bored411** , That is amazing! I've always loved Wolfhounds! An what is your opinion as of yet? Do you like Kaiya? Does she fit in?

 **Guest** , I am assuming it is all the same person so I will answer all the reviews in this one section. On Narutopedia, which is where I get most of my information from, usually, it is Hyuga with an accent on the 'u' which makes the 'uu' sound. I've been writing Hyuga only because I've assumed that everyone knew that there is a longum on the 'u.' Sorry if it bothers you! Do you really think so? I figured since she was so determined to be in Kakashi's life, it would propel her into wanting to get over it. This is another life. I must say you are coming on to something here that I have not explained yet, and I will not explain it probably for another 20-30 chapters. Congratulations you have come onto Foreshadowing or a Timbit as we Canadians call it. Behold my foreshadowing. It is everywhere! Concerning the words directed at Sakumo, I can see what you mean. I'll keep it in mind, Thank you!

 **GreyMoon. Huntress** , Bff's? That might take a while if it ever happens! I'm actually surprised how many people have commented on that one little doodle. It was a spur of the moment decision to include it, but I'm glad I did! The more I write her, the more I love Kaiya. Bitch, she might be, but she is a Bitch I love! Enter Itachi~

 **KaYenn** , Hehe! I miss the days in which I could do that! By the way... I'm blaming you if I fail my Latin midterm! You got me thinking about starting Boruto... And I watched 6 episodes instead of studying. Ops. Oh my... Baby Orochimaru... I would pay for that! Shikamaru! He would be the best cuddle-buddy! Woot for Chibi 'Tachi!

 **Megabyte97** , You know what? If you keep giving my long reviews like this? You can call me whatever the hell you want! Don't worry about overreacting about anything! I appreciate the worry and criticism, I would much rather you tell me about these things so that I can either fix them or argue against it strengthening my argument even further. I took a look at the first few chapters and recognized the fanfiction, I had completely forgotten about it! I need to go back and reread it at some point.  
Speaking of Crack Fiction, That DnD scene you are talking made me laugh. I could picture it, but since I have never played DnD, I only a bit about it. So at some point, I might write up a scene with it for you once I know the rules a bit more. Actually, it may only be because of my background in Classical Civilisation, but I found a screenshot of a Trojan war DnD game staring Achilles. It is fucking Priceless! If you know anything about the Iliad, check it out, I'm sure you can find it!  
I didn't even think of Mikoto being the one to corrupt Anko. Maybe I'll look into that a bit more.  
Pft! That would be funny! Sad, but funny! It was intended just as a backhanded insult, but I might try to play with that as a Bonus at one point.  
Just to be clear, Maiko is 100% an OC and reincarnated, sorry if I wasn't too clear. I didn't want to outright say it, as it would have taken away from the scene(in my opinion). It would be interesting to see Maiko and Kakashi fighting in the chunin exams, but there is one problem. Maiko is older than them, and she is already a Chunin.  
Danzo and Hiruzen's meeting will eventually happen and I'll make sure write it up soon, it will probably be in the next chapter or so. I'll try to answer some of your questions then.  
You know what is funny? Even I thought it was weird but I wasn't sure how else to word it. I actually rewrote the scene a least five times.  
To your point 5, like it told **GreyMoon. Huntress** , I am pleasantly surprised at how much everyone loved the doodle! It was a spur of the moment decision that I wrote like 10 minutes before I updated. You really put into words exactly what I was trying to portray in the scene. But more then anything, I was trying to make Fugaku seem more human.  
Thank you very much for your support! You along with everyone one are the reason I've continued this. I don't think people realize just how much your comments motivate us, and inspire us. So I will be inspired if you all keep supporting me.  
Second message- Bah! Don't worry about it! I appreciate the time you put in to write to me! I'm more honored that you took the time to read it a second time. Don't ever hesitate to tell me if you think something is wonky!  
Have a nice day/night to you too!

 **Zdraco** , Granted everything that Reika did for Sakumo, not to mention pretty much being Kakashi's sister, it is normal she would be considered pack at this point. That would actually be something I could see Reika pushing Fugaku to do. Send little doodles to Itachi too! It might actually develop their relationship a bit more too!

 **Guest** , Sorry for the wait!

 **chloemika** , Thank you very much for your words and your support!

 **Whitney1995** , Hiashi? Reika being Hiashi's daughter? As in Hinata's elder sister? Now I'm kinda curious how you came up with that one! But I will tell you that there is a Timbit (Foreshadowing) in that scene. But what is it, I will not say, cause that would ruin everything I've built up until now. But it will get more obvious as the chapters go on, that I promise you. Thank you for your support!


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30- Team Assignments

I could feel the eyes on me as I walked into the compound. They were analyzing me, checking each of my mannerisms. My identity.

And without my Byakugan, I wouldn't be able to see them anyway. They were too good at their job for that.

So I continue up to the door and knocked, a tad nervous, but that was to be expected.

It wasn't every day that you get invited to the Sarutobi compound. To sleep over at the Hokage's own house.

"Hello, Sensei." I bowed to my old kunoichi teacher, her serious face a tad kinder then I remember. She was dressed in a white garb on top of a purple kimono.

"Hello Reika, please call me by my given name. You were not in the Academy long enough to keep calling me that." She replied politely. "Everyone is already in the courtyard."

She guided me through the house out into the rectangular center of the house, where a few trees were rooted.

"Is this actually a good idea?" I muttered looking at the mayhem that occurred at the Third Hokage's house. Biwako sent me an amused look before I was distracted.

"Oh come on now Reika," Rin smiled as she bounced up to me, her hand grabbing mine and pulling me off the porch.

Hand seals, head scratches and note papers were floating all over.

I took a closer look around me and noticed semi-hiden paper seals stuck around the house, ready to seal off this area in an instant.

It was well protected and perfect for defending all of the children.

"Welcome, Reika," Asuma said as Rin dragged me closer.

I nodded his way before looking over the notes he, Gai and Genma were working on.

"Elemental natures? Don't you already know this stuff?" I asked them before looking even closer at Gai. "And you can't even use this."

Gai surprisingly grinned at me and gave me a thumbs up.

"Asuma got a hold of the chakra paper and he, Rin and Genma wanted to try it out. I thought it was Youthful so I came to watch."

I glared over at Rin and she looked away innocently.

"Here they are, but I only have three." Asuma laid them out on the ground in front of us.

This was a bad idea.

"This is something you guys should do with your Genin sensei," I told them. "And the exam is tomorrow, why don't you wait?"

Genma rolled his eyes and took out the pencil from his lips, pointing it at me.

"So we get assigned our sensei in five days, but what happens if they don't test our affinity until like 3 years down the road?" He argued.

I wanted to snort and tell them that we are at war. There were no 3 years down the road, but instead, they would be Chunin by then or be dead.

Rin decided to pip up, successfully cutting me off.

"It is true Reika!" She said, eyes glittering with curiosity.

Whatever happened to my sweet and innocent friend that would abide by the rules?

Asuma held up the papers and was about to distribute them when I saw someone I didn't recognize coming towards us.

"Live a little, Rei!" Asuma smirked waving them back and forth.

"How about you listen to the actual Genin in the room who has actual experience in combat and who has probably done the test before?" The tall brown haired and eyed teenager said snatching the papers from Asuma's hand.

I blinked in surprise, seeing the chunin vest on his chest.

"Oh come on, Nii-san!" Asuma complained.

"Not happening!" he emphasized before turning to me.

"Thank you for trying to stop them before they did something stupid." He said.

Great now I'll be known as a kill-joy.

Suddenly I felt a weight lay itself on my back and shoulder.

"Who's the cutie?" Anko whispered into my ear and I snorted in laughter.

I looked behind me to see Obito, Ibiki, Kakashi, and Kurenai standing around us.

Asuma sighed before motioning to him.

"Everyone, this is my older brother, Hiroto Sarutobi."

"Wow, your brother is a Chunin?" Kurenai exclaimed. "That's so cool."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and stood up, Anko hooking her legs around my waist so she wouldn't fall.

"Anyway, I thought dad was deploying you today," Asuma said looking up at his brother.

"He has to find a new jonin to lead the mission."

I could feel Anko open her mouth next to my ear and I pinched her on the thigh instead.

So the fact that the old one died went unsaid.

"So I'm leaving tomorrow instead." He waved the papers in the air again. "Until then I'll be around," he paused. "And I'll be watching Asuma."

He then walked off.

"Spoilsport," Asuma muttered under his breath.

I was kinda surprised at the slight tinge of jealousy that squeezed my heart. Hiroto was caring, better than my own ever had been.

"You two were trying to see your elemental affinity?" Kakashi asked surprised. "That's too advanced for your level."

I grinned over at my brother in all but blood.

"That is what I said."

"Well, I guess we should move onto something else?" Rin said getting up and dusting herself off.

All as if she hadn't been egging them a minute or two before.

"Now that Reika is here we can divide ourselves in two!"

I sighed before looking at my human backpack.

"Is that why you are glued to me? You want to reserve me for something?" I asked the future snake mistress.

She grinned, her hands moving under my arms.

As if she would get me that easily.

Pushing my elbow into her inner thigh, she gasped and unconsciously opened a space so that I could push it off me and slid her off my back.

"Good Luck, Anko." Kakashi deadpanned, knowing full well how good I was with close body contact.

The purple haired kid yelped as I pinned her easily, my knee in her plexus, all my weight holding her down, one arm pinning her left to her neck and pushing with the other so she was choking herself.

Three taps answered me and I lifted off her.

"Nice try!" I smiled and helped her up.

"Damn! I thought I got you that time." She whined.

The others laughed before surprisingly Ibiki spoke next.

"Would you mind sharing with me as well?"

"But I want to spar with her!" Obito groaned.

Kakashi snorted walking towards the targets.

"What you need is shuriken training." He muttered walking away.

"What did you say?!"

"We need it too!" Rin butted in, pulling Gai and Anko with her by the back of their shirts.

I snickered before turning to Genma, Kurenai, and Asuma.

"What about you three?" I asked.

They looked at each other before all raising their hand.

"I'm next!"

Snickering I motioned for Ibiki to step forward.

"You guys decide between you who is next," I called over and got into position.

Ibiki was fast. Fast and precise would be the best words to describe his fighting style.

I could easily understand why he was chosen to be apart of the torture unit and would eventually be the head of it.

He tossed my punch to the side, slipping in to get a hit onto my ribs, but I caught that with my other hand.

Fighting him was annoying. When his attacks couldn't hit, he did little things that would pick at your nerves.

I'm guilty of doing that too, Back then anyway. It was smart.

A few kicks to the shins or pinches in the underside of the arm angered opponents a great deal.

So when I finally hit my three points on him, and the match was called, I was using all my strength to hold in my frustration.

"So?" He asked out of breath. "How was I?

"Annoying as shit," I growled before I clamped my foul mouth shut.

"Reika! There are children present!" Genma snickered.

I glared before forcing myself to breathe through the emotions.

"I hope we never have to fight again," I told him.

To this Ibiki grinned.

"But you still have a few things to fix."

Holding up my hand I put up a finger.

"You favor your right side, you look before you pinch, and you take too long to get up once you fall." I listed.

Ibiki took the criticism in stride and backed away to regain his breath, sitting beside Kurenai.

To this, I saw both Genma and Asuma stand and grin.

They wouldn't dare...

I watched Asuma dash straight to me, Genma curving out to the side.

"I never said anything about two on one!" I growled, dodging the fist of the Hokage's son.

It was closely followed up by a kick, which I blocked with my forearms before jumping over Genma who tried to sweep me.

"Should have made rules then!" He smirked.

You want to play that way.

I activated my Byakugan.

"No Kekkei Genkai Reika!" Kurenai grinned for the side. "This is like an academy fight."

I scoffed before turning it right off and flipped back, being chased by both boys, who were grinning.

Jumping out of the way from a barrage of punches, I turned us away from Kakashi's shuriken group. It wouldn't do us any favors if either of them got a kunai in the back.

Just as I launched myself off Asuma's next kick my eye caught a black one.

Arms wrapped themselves around the Hokage's son, restricting his movements.

"Oi! We are training for the exams! You two just want to test Rei-chan!" He yelled.

Almost immediately I caught onto the distraction and slipped under Genma's next hit, flipping him onto his back, making a chicken wing with his arm and pinning him to the ground.

"Ow!" he exclaimed and I counted to three.

"Nice sabotage, Obito-kun!" Gai grinned. "To the aid of a fellow leaf ninja!"

I started to snicker at the misfortune of the two academy students.

"You suck!" Asuma bit half-heartedly.

Shrugging I let Genma go, only to honk him on the nose like I had done that day of the academy.

"Reika!" he hissed, touching his nose. "What the hell is that about!"

We laughed again and I motioned between the two of them.

"And what is about the tag teaming?" I asked them. "The academy never had us when I was there, was it something i missed?"

A now freed Asuma nodded and scratched his head, clearly guilty.

"Well since you have been in the Genin Corps, and a blacksmith's apprentice we figured you would be rusty, so two of us could handle you…" he continued.

Actually, they had a point. Was I supposed to act like that?

Kakashi, Obi and Rin's laughter was the next thing I heard.

"Reika? Taking it easy?" Obito's smile was large. "I don't know if that is possible."

"Oi! What do you mean by that!" I demanded.

"Getting up before even Kaiya wakes us to sneak off and train in the backyard seem familiar?" Rin answered with a giggle.

This was followed by Kakashi's comment.

"Didn't I tell you guys that we took a mission, and she went with Minato-sensei to confront the enemy?"

I pursed my lips, thankful that he didn't know the other half of that.

"Don't forget her Youthfulness!" Gai urged and I rolled my eyes.

"So I'd say the one thing you two need to work on it not to underestimate your opponent," I told them. "It is always better to overestimate than to underestimate."

This way you won't get killed.

"Children!"

We all looked over to see Biwako-san standing on the porch.

"Supper is ready, come and eat."

And so we all went in, and like usual we were rowdy. Even if it was the Hokage's house, chaos ensued.

Rin, Kakashi, Ibiki and I tried to stay kind and respectful. But that went out the window when Gai sent food flying Asuma's way by accident and caused a food fight.

Biwako-san was surprisingly accepting of the whole thing. Leaving the room with four bowls of food before coming in minutes later with nothing to sit down and eat with us. My mind immediately registered the movement, concluding that the bowls must have been for four Anbu that was guarding the house.

Hiroto even showed up, saw the chaos, grabbed a bowl of food and took off again.

Despite this, I could see Asuma constantly looking over at the door, as if someone would come through any minute.

It was only when we finished, and he schooled a hurt expression did I realize he was looking for his father, and that Hiruzen never showed up.

That night had us in Sarutobi house' dojo, tatami mats making it comfy.

And surprisingly, Gai started the discussion.

"Who do you think you'll be put on a team with?" he asked, looked between all nine of us.

I was settled between Kakashi and Rin, warm and deep in my sleeping bag, eyes heavy.

Certainty was filled in Kakashi's voice when he spoke my name.

"Since Minato-sensei will be given a full team this term, I think Reika will be placed with me." He said.

I rolled my eyes.

"I have my apprenticeship, Kakashi. An apprenticeship that is actually quite important, I'm making and repairing weapons that have been used in the war. I doubt that I will get on a Genin team this time." I replied, but I thought about the real reason. The reason being that I was an Anbu member, an initiate but still a member. Why give me a team when I am in a perfect position to do missions undercover? Well, eventually do missions.

"I bet you Ichiraku that it happens!" he continued childishly. Easy food. So I shook him on it.

"Even there, if she was put back on a team, I doubt two experienced ninjas would be put together," Ibiki said, as the voice of reason.

"I agree, it would be more likely that you both will be placed on different teams," Rin replied, her eyes lingered slightly on Kakashi before she looked down with a small smile.

"So what are your guesses?" I asked them.

"It would be awesome if we had an all-female team!" Anko grinned. "Rin, Kurenai and I!"

"Unrealistic!" Kakashi deadpanned. "There is only one female per team."

I shook my head and argued against him.

"Not true. Kushina-sensei and Tsume-san were on the same team under Tsunade Senju."

Anko pumped her fists.

"Hell yeah!"

Kurenai laughed, before pointing out the missing information.

"Who was the last member of the team?" She asked.

I looked at the person using the sleeping bag just in front of me and grinned. Obito was snickering, tears almost pooling in his goggles.

"The Patriarch of my clan, Fugaku-sama!" he snickered.

Rin was the next to start laughing, Kakashi just shaking his head a small pinch of his mask.

The others looked at each other in question.

"I heard the Uchiha clan head, was stiff as a board," Asuma said. "Strict too."

I grinned and nodded.

"All three of the women on his team was on the crazy scale," I replied. "And he was stuck with them."

"But Tsunade-sama is amazing! I wonder what she is doing right now?" Rin asked hearts in her eyes. "I really want to meet her!"

I almost snorted.

Drinking her ass off and gambling.

"Well, being serious, we can start with the rookie of the year team," Rin said tapping her cheek. "In our generation that would be Kakashi, and I at the top of the class."

Her eyes then swept from Gai to Obito.

"It would be a youthful team! Both of you and Me!" Gai replied, excitement resonating in his voice.

Blinking I realized that in this timeline Obito was not dead last. Constant training with both Kakashi and I along with the others boosted his grades more then we had thought.

"That would work well," Ibiki replied. "Two heavy hitters and a support, or even ninjutsu, taijutsu and medical specialist."

"What about for me?" Kurenai asked, scratching her head.

"Well, I was thinking we may make a good assassination squad," Asuma commented on. "You, if you do specialize in Genjutsu like you were thinking, My close combat, and Ibiki's annoying pinching!"

Said silver-haired kid glared.

"Are you saying that is my only capabilities?" He growled.

"No! Not at all!" The Sarutobi said nervously.

Chuckling Genma pointed out the obvious.

"So that means I would be placed with Anko and Obito?" He frowned. "What kinda team would that be?"

To that, I immediately piped up.

"Close range with Anko, Long range weaponry for you and Ninjutsu specialist with Obi since he is an Uchiha. Assault squad"

"But we can't forget that there are other students in our class as well!" Rin said. "I doubt this will be the final teams."

I both agreed and worried about it.

Other then this Generation's team 7, I didn't remember the other Genin teams.

But even if I did, my presence would affect things, that there is no doubt, but I was sure that they would pass. All of them.

-.-

"Not too bad?" Kawasu-sempai asked a small smile on her lips.

Neko dusted off his pants, and I got up off the ground. Both of us eyeing each other and waiting until the other person moved.

"Hn."

I couldn't help the smirk that presented itself.

"Could still use some work." He retorted, crossing his arms. As if that man could ever be simply content. "For instance, you hesitate to get a better grip on your kunai when you shoot. Fix it, then you will be acceptable."

I checked my teeth with my tongue before going into my mouth and pulling out a loose tooth.

Iron filled it, but I ignored it in favor of looking over it.

"A tooth?" Mikoto blinked surprised.

"It was loose, anyway," I mentioned. "I still have about half of my mouth full of baby teeth."

I flung it to the ground and resisted the urge to tongue the hole.

It wasn't that annoying Before.

A squeak answered me and my eyes brought me over to the third member of my audience.

"What was that 'Tachi?" I asked, walking forward to greet the now awake baby.

A gummy grin and a little hand answered me.

"Tsk," Neko scoffed. "Really? He wakes up and wants you?"

I couldn't help but grin as Mikoto passed me the child.

"He likes me better."

If Fugaku was actually a cat, he would have hissed at me, if his glare was anything to go by.

"Keep telling yourself that." He shot before turning away.

"I have to head to the station."

He was gone soon after, announcing the finishing of our training session.

"Isn't that true, Otouto?" I asked, holding him closer to my small chest, one hand holding his neck. "You like me better!"

Mikoto snickered.

We slowly walked back into Anbu headquarters. Just as deserted as before, our trip to the locker room was uneventful. Unless you were Itachi. The little one kept trying to hold up his head, looking around to see the world around him.

Walking into the room I felt little hands go into my hair.

"Thanks, kid," I muttered, feeling the drool cascading down my neck.

Mikoto laughed before she took him back. He fussed at the exchange.

"Hush now Itachi, Nee-chan needs to get dressed."

"He's lucky he is cute," I mutter wiping my sweaty clothes on my neck and trying to get the baby spit out of my hair.

Can't wait until he grows out of this phase.

At least then he will have more intelligent things to say other then squeaks and cries.

I got dressed quickly before we headed out, Mikoto already in her normal clothes.

Our destination? The Academy.

We were off to congratulate the new prospective Genin.

And like I said.

They all passed.

-.-

"Alright!" Ken'ichi clapped his hands and eyed me from his perch on the nearby log. "Let's see how this works. "

I finished strapping the Wood and Metal Bow to my clone's arm, the bow folded in three and rotated on so that it was concealed by her, or rather my, forearm.

Taking a deep breath, the clone outstretched her left arm. Her fingers folded in and hesitated for barely a second. Touching the button, the condensed bow snapped out and turned perpendicular to the arm. Both sides clasped out to its maximum, the bowstring keeping it in place.

"It worked." I blinked. Clearly surprised.

"Well, what do you know!" He grinned. "The string didn't snap like last time!"

I scratched my scabbed cheek in embarrassment. It was fairly large, having almost taken my eye out. I hadn't ever been so glad for fast reflexes.

There is a reason why I now used a clone to test the equipment, Ken'ichi made me learn that the hard way. Nor did he stop teasing me either.

I walked back over and held out an arrow.

"Try to shoot it," I instructed before backing away once again.

She nodded, before notching the arrow like I had thousands of times Before.

I wasn't expecting her to be able to shoot it incredibly well, with our lack of experience with this body.

But I hadn't expected the arrow to barely fly a few feet.

Blinking, Ken'ichi and I looked at each other, him not having expected it either.

"What the hell?" I asked, not curbing my language.

I walked over and gave her a new arrow.

It did the same thing.

My Shishou stood from his log and moved forward. Bending down with a groan to grab one of the used arrows and bringing it back to the bow.

He held it up to the string and stared.

I wasn't expecting the laughter that came out of the old man soon after.

"What!" I growled, wanting to know what the hell was so funny.

Oh, how sure I was that it was something fucking stupid.

"What is the nock made of?" he asked holding it up.

"Metal."

He touched the bowstring where we had attacked a small metal magnet so that the string would stay in place when the bow was folded in.

"It is creating a counter force." I groaned my hand meeting my face.

He shrugged and I dreaded what he said next.

"Back to the drawing board."

-.-

"I heard that Obito, Rin and the rest passed their exam." My mother asked as I watched her strap on her gear. Automatic, that would be the term I would use to describe it. A practiced automatic action.

"I don't know if I should be worried or not." My father chuckled from behind me.

"Why would you be worried?" I asked. "They will be fine!"

My parents shared an amused look.

"I know they will be." My mother said, flicking out a kunai, making sure it was comfortably placed before resetting it in the holster. "This generation is going to take the Shinobi world by storm, that I am sure of."

I gave her a cheeky smile, lounging back on their bed like it was my own.

"Do you know who you are replacing?" I asked changing the subject.

Otou-san hummed, rolling up his gear and packing it in his bag just as we had been shown in the academy.

"Choza Akamichi and Yamanaka-san have both been hurt so Hokage-sama is bringing their team back, Uchiha-san and I will be replacing him." This made me frown.

"Fugaku?" I asked. "But Itachi was just born."

A hand landed on my head and patted me like a dog.

"Three months ago. There is a reason why he is in high demand and an even bigger reason why he is head of the Uchiha clan." My father lectured before tying his bag. "If Mikoto was one of our best assassins, Fugaku is probably our best genjutsu specialist, and the best Sharingan user in his clan."

I almost rolled my eyes, knowing full well how good he really was.

"And I will be replacing Orochimaru-sama." My mother said.

That, I wasn't expecting.

"Really? Orochimaru?" I asked, but a hand tapped my head.

"Honorific." She reminded.

With that monster? I sighed. But if it is true, Anko is supposed to be placed on his team.

Now that is something else to change, what happens with her.

I scratched my head.

At least she is the only one of us on the team. Hopefully, that will change. The tragedy of the team, not that she is the only one of us on that team.

"But wait, isn't he a border leader? Shouldn't Sakumo or someone be replacing him?" I asked.

The look I got made me still.

"Not that you aren't good enough." I hurried.

This made my father cough over his snicker.

"Reika." He stated, turning slightly away from my mother's glare. "Your mother's reputation is not just in Anbu you know, she is well known in the Jonin community as well."

Ops.

"I didn't mean it like that, we just hear that Orochimaru-sama as one of the Sanin and Sakumo as the White Fang, they are always key players…" I realized that I was shooting myself in the foot and shut up. That was not what I meant.

"Look Reika." My mother sat beside me on her bed. "I may not have a fancy title, but I've led my share of missions, and I've commanded teams and squadrons before in war and not. It isn't too much for me, and Hokage-sama knows that. And he also knows that Orochimaru-sama needs a break. He has been pushing 6-7 months away from the village and I am the best one to replace him. I will be okay, I trust my squad of fellow ninja to fight their hardest and protect each other."

I nodded in understanding, glad that she knew me enough to get what I meant.

"Anyway, you haven't had to do border patrol yet, so you don't know, but all Anbu members have to check in with the ninja in charge of the border before they leave, so the leader must be able to recognize them. So there is a restriction of who the Hokage can send out, he needs someone who has worked with most of the Anbu if not all of them." My father continued.

Their packs were thrown onto their shoulder and they stood straight, taking that as I sign, I got off the bed and followed them out of the house and down the street.

We walked in silence, making our way to the gate, enjoying each other's presence.

"Stay out of trouble Reika." My mother finally said as she stood at the entrance. "And be nice for Minato, Kushina and the others."

"Not Sakumo-Oji?" I asked.

Her lips twitched but she shook her head.

"He won't be here for long."

Anxiety filled me again, and I realized that within Anbu and in the village there weren't many adults that I knew. Or trusted.

At least I knew that Mikoto will not be going anywhere.

My father came back from signing himself out before nodding to my mother.

"Stay safe." She said and I barely had time to respond before she went to go do the same.

The body lowered next to me snapped me back from tracking my mother's back.

"Now, make sure you practice what we were working on." He told me, catching my eyes.

Rotation.

"I will, Otou-san," I said.

He smiled.

"Stay safe my little Genius."

He stood, as everyone was called to attention and moved into formation, not looking back.

The orders were clear and concise, directed by the Hokage himself. My eyes shifted to the faces of the other ninja from the furthest side of the small crowd staying at the gate.

Fugaku stood front and clear, a few shinobi away from my mother. The attention stance was broken and he turned to head out with the rest of the squad, but I caught a few flashes of Anbu code directed to who knows who.

Guard

Guard what?

It took me a second to realize it was meant for me.

and who else would I guard, but his family?

I smiled before a hand clasped my shoulder.

"So your Dad is going too?"

I had been so occupied with them that I didn't look at those around me.

Genma flicked a new senbon in his mouth and nodded to the group who was no longer in sight.

"Both of my parents," I told him. His eyes saddened just a bit, before nodding.

"My Dad too." He reiterated and I looked over his shoulder to see a short woman, big with child. Looking longing to the gate, worry crossing her face.

"The headband looks good on you," I told him, turning to the back of his head.

He shrugged.

"My dad fought me on it, but I want it this way, It makes me different." He grinned touching the knot in front before adjusting the bandana.

I snorted in amusement.

It makes him look like he was one of those guys from Before that turned their hats backward and they pants below their ass. Fuckboys? Was that the term?

His eyebrows moved up and down and he twirled his senbon.

"You are going to choke on it," I replied.

He only grinned.

"That's why I practiced with a pencil in the academy."

Idiot.

-.-

A few days later, I ran into Obito.

And he wasn't alone.

"Cool! This means you are a real shinobi now!"

I blinked at the little black curly-haired boy and hesitated.

What?

"You bet I am, Shusui!" He grinned that bright smile that could light up a room and I found myself making my way over to him.

Yeah, you read right.

This cute little, chubby-cheeked boy is that Shusui.

"Reika!" I blinked up from the kid and looked up into Obito's goggles.

"Hey," I responded lamely.

"Who are you?" the kid asked, looking up in wonder.

I saw his eyes glance down my body before it settled on my waist, where my headband was tied.

"This is Reika!" Obito introduced. "She's one of my best friends."

"You're a genin too!" the kid asked, eyes shining.

I opened my mouth to answer the kid but the other Uchiha butted in.

"Yeah! She is, has been one for over a year!" he said.

Sending a warning glare his way. He continued.

"She has been on plenty of mission as well, escort duties, and lots of fighting missions."

Wonder turned into adoration as Shusui turned on me.

"Obi." I grounded out, he snickered before adjusting his new headband.

"She will make a great loyal ninja to me when I become Hokage."

I glared hole heartedly. That little shit, self-promoting himself and automatically assuming that I would follow his every word.

But deep down I knew I would. And hopefully, I can see the day where he does take the hat.

"I want to be a great loyal ninja as well!" The kid said pumping his fists and grinning, all his baby teeth for show.

He was cute.

And those chubby cheeks.

My hand twitched at my side and I held in the urge to be a giant prick.

"And I'm sure you will! But you have to train hard, there are no shortcuts to being a great ninja!"

"Of course." Shusui grinned, pumping his fists in the air. "I have to start training now!"

And like the little tornado that he acted like, he took off down the street.

"Cute kid!" Obito grinned, standing next to me.

I rolled my eyes, thinking the same thing before the kid's words caught up with me.

"How old is he?' I asked.

Obito looked over puzzled.

"Turning 5, why?"

"He said he wanted to go train."

Black eyes blinked at me.

"He took off alone."

It took a few seconds, but my words finally sunk in.

"Shit, Bye Rei!"

Did Obito just swear?

Exhaling my surprise I turned around and made my way over to the Main house.

When did Obi learn to swear?

Walking in, I followed the soft cries of a baby.

"Reika!" Mikoto almost growled.

It surprised me so much, I froze thinking that I was in trouble.

"Take your little brother!" She hissed almost throwing Itachi at me.

I adjusted my hold, the chibi-Uchiha whining but cuddled close, a hand curling into my kimono, the other automatically into my hair.

"What?" I asked, confused and anxious. "What happened?"

"Your ex-sensei is getting a beating!" She hissed, strapping on her nearby gear and tying her wet hair into a bun.

"But I thought we were training today?" I asked trying not to cringe at the drool that once again coated my hair.

"Tomorrow, Training ground 7, 10:00am."

That was her last order before she flew open her porch door, disappearing.

"What the fuck?" I whispered.

A gurgle copied my tone and I glared down at the child.

"Please don't copy that," I told Itachi, taking him back upstairs and into his room.

There I found something interesting.

Sticky white prints came from the master bedroom.

And, I tried to hold in my curiosity.

I really did.

Opening the door, I blinked in surprise at the pure white of the room. Bending down I touched the wet white stuff and I brought it up to my nose smelling it. I recognized what it was instant. Flour, and water.

On the ground near the door laid a scroll. I picked it up and grinned at what was written on it.

Or rather what was depicted.

A great caricature with purple eyes and red hair smirked and beaconed with their hand.

Come and get it.

I snickered before replacing the scroll and leaving the powder room for when Mikoto got back.

"How about we take a nap, doesn't that sound good?" I told the baby. "Your Mama will be gone for a while. Your Aunt pranked her."

He looked over at me, almost confused.

I walked back into the kitchen, having grabbed one of Itachi's blankets from his room on the way.

We set up on the porch. The door to the kitchen open wide and both of us fell asleep on the hard floor.

Well, at least I fell asleep on the hard floor.

Itachi? Not so much. His fist was still entangled on my chest, his soft snores making me smile.

We laid there like it was the calm before the storm.

And not once…

Did I think about what tomorrow entailed.

-.-

I blinked once.

Then again

And again.

"You're late."

No. This can't be happening.

Not once did I ever think that this would be possible.

Yet here I am.

"What?" I finally blurted out.

Three shit eating grins faced me and I honestly didn't know how to feel.

"Now that all of Team 7 is here, we can commence the team introduction," Minato-san said.

"But!" I looked over eyes wide, fingers pointing over at the others. "What about Rin? I thought she would have ended up on the team with those two!"

Panic ushered into me, and I worried over what will happen to her. Will it be like the other Fanfiction I have seen where her team is failed and she is sent into Genin corps? Or will she become permanently in the hospital? No. That isn't fair.

"Don't worry about Rin-chan, Rei," Minato said with a smile. "She has a sensei that I can personally attest for, she will be fine."

"Oh and Reika?" I turned around to Kakashi, and saw the pinches on his mask, his eyes sparkling. "You owe me Ichiraku."

My face turned stale as I realized something.

"You knew!" I accused, Obito crackled next to Minato and I fumed.

"This has been in the works for months hasn't it!"

"Now. Now, Reika!" Minato smiled put himself between us and coughed up an explanation.

"This was an idea the Hokage has been toying with for months."

More instances began to appear in my mind.

"That mission we went on." I grounded out. "It was a test run wasn't it!"

Kakashi peaked around Minato and if it was possible, his grin widened.

"Perhaps?" Minato laughed nervously.

"Why didn't you tell me!"

"Stop worrying Reika!" Obito grinned, finally entering the debate. "If you keep complaining, we are going to think that you don't want to be put on a team with us!"

Opening my mouth, I denied it.

"It's not that…" I glanced back over at Minato and swallowed.

"What about my apprenticeship?"

A hand lightly pushed me forward.

"Don't worry about that, Hokage-sama has talked it over with Ken-san and he said that you can keep it up on your days off, or unless specified."

Reserving myself, I took a deep breath and vowed to talk to Mikoto the next chance I got.

And she too set me up!

"Now, since we all know each other well. How about we do a little exercise?" Minato-san, or rather, Minato-sensei said.

"An exercise?" Obito asked.

"The last Academy exam," I stated, crossing my arms and sending a little glare back to my best friend who came around Minato grinning.

"There is another Exam?" Obito screeched, his hands running through his black hair.

"Relax, Dobe!" Kakashi rolled his eyes. "It won't be hard."

Minato in turn grinned.

"Or really?" The tone made all of us blink. And out popped his two bells.

"The goal is to take these from me, within an hour." He mentioned, letting the bells bounce in his grasp. "The first two who get them win."

Wait. I thought it was at least two hours we were supposed to have.

Kakashi immediately tried to snatch for one, but they disappeared.

"Not so fast Kakashi." Minato laughed. "I haven't finished the best part."

He paused, clearly for dramatic effect.

"The last person will be sent back to the academy, or Genin corps."

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched both of my teammates look at each other before glancing over at me.

"That is not fair!" Obito accused, pointing back at Kakashi and me. "They have been out of the Academy for years! They are going to get it first!"

Shaking my head, I looked over at the Uchiha.

"Obi," I rolled my eyes. "Use your head, this is a test."

Kakashi snickered, clearly understanding what I meant and opened his mouth to spell out the test.

But he didn't get that far.

"And let me add another rule since you three are childhood friends," Minato called. "As of now, you are no longer allowed to speak."

Shit.

"Start!"

Kakashi and Obito rolled out of the way, as a shadow clone intercepted them.

I flipped back, dodging the real Minato, before engaging him in hand to hand combat.

My hand moved towards the bells as I drove myself parallel to him only for him to vanish.

The Fucker is using Hirashin as well? What The Fuck?!

I hissed before taking a few steps back to guard the backs of my two teammates.

I gave a short whistle, and it made Minato frown

He never did say we couldn't make sounds, just no speaking.

"Noise counts, Reika." Minato scolded.

Well, there goes that.

Kakashi looked over at me and I nodded to Obito then rolled my eyes.

He gave me another questioning look before he shoved the Uchiha.

The black haired boy looked over innocently, and Kakashi covered him as our future teacher's shadow clone tried to attack the semi-distracted newbie ninja.

My fingers flew through Kohona Standard and I could almost see Obito translating it in his head.

Minato-sensei didn't wait for him to understand and sent Kunai over at us. Recognizing them. I grabbed Obito by the collar and flew into the one-handed Shunshin.

Tumbling at the forest edge I cursed my lack of ability. I wasn't good enough to carry a passenger properly.

My eyes followed where we had previously been only to see Minato now there.

I knocked twice on the tree next to me for Kakashi and I pushed Obito further into the trees.

Team Test. I sighed as we ran, moving on the high branches circling around before ducking under a few branches.

I activated my Byakugan and took a survey of the training ground.

 **50 minutes, Complete Objective, 3 Pass**.

Obito blinked and I saw his mouth open in realization.

Kakashi's hands came out from the bushes and trapped the words in Obito's mouth.

 **Silent**

He signed.

 **Sorry** , was Obito's slow response. **Plan**?

I bit my lip and nodded over at Kakashi.

I'm no good with plans.

My eyes zoomed in on Minato's position and almost snorted.

He was quietly waiting in the open training ground, looking up at the sun, checking the time.

I combed the forest once more, watching as another Minato slowly made his way towards us.

There is one thing I know I didn't have to worry about here, and it was failing for not working in a team. Now that Obito new about the reason behind the test. We won't fail because of this.

So that means we have to take the bells no matter what. With both Kakashi and I, in Genin Corps and an Anbu initiate, we had no excuse to fail…

Shit, no wonder he is not taking it easy on us.

Multitasking, I paid attention to both the two Minato's and the plan being planed out around me.

And so through a bit of questioning, we came up with a three-step plan.

 **Incoming**

I signed and all three of us ducked into the forest. Kakashi and I one way, while Obito ducked the other.

Minato immediately turned towards Obito and followed him, and I tried not to let myself grin.

Obito was the decoy, and it worked perfectly.

I bumped fists once more with Kakashi before he circled around to get to the other Minato.

Breathing in, I changed my stance to stealth before following Obito.

Surprised on how far they had gotten, I reached them with only 35 minutes left on the clock.

The tricky thing with Minato was that anything you can do to trap him, he can get out of it with the Hirashin.

So the only way to stop him is to either make him pass out or stop his chakra flow.

I let my kunai fly and hit the tree Minato-sensei had backed him into.

Seeing the explosive tag, I saw Minato's sudden hesitation in leaving Obito.

That was his mistake and Obito pushed off the tree and kicked Minato in the gut, causing him to erupt with smoke.

Grinning, Obito grabbed the kunai with the dud and pocketed it.

 **Phase one Complete.**

Speeding up I scanned the area for Kakashi and the other Minato and saw them engaged in hand to hand combat.

 **Ready?**

I asked Obito.

He gave me a thumbs up and sped ahead, leaving me a few meters from the edge of the forest.

Relaxed, I made a few hand signs before holding my breath.

 **Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu**

Our plan was going perfectly.

Obito jumped in loudly from behind Minato, acting the ditsy allowing for Kakashi to try and hit him from behind.

Smirking, Minato jumped over him and pushed him into Obito.

I watched his feet touch the ground and made my move.

My hands grabbed his ankles pulling him under, with Obito rushing for the bells.

Grinning in triumph, he grabbed them.

By the time I surfaced, Kakashi knocked him on conscious.

But what we didn't expect was for it to be a clone, nor for the bells to erupt in smoke.

Cursing inside my head, I did the first thing that came to me and flipped Kakashi over my hip and into the smoke.

Any other time, I would have laughed openly at the expression that my best friend gave me, but I was too preoccupied with the test.

"Ouf!" Minato groaned as the 9-year-old slammed into him, and he pushed him to the side.

But it was the distraction I needed to get into position.

 **Eight Trigrams 32 Palms.**

I was able to close 16 points before Minato switched.

"That was a nice try." He chuckled rubbing his shoulder and left arm.

"It was, wasn't it!" Obito grinned next to my now-sensei.

"Reika!" Kakashi growled from next to me.

"Sorry!" I scratched the back of my next in guilt. "It was the only thing I could think of.

"But it was great!" Obito laughed moving his arms as he tried to imitate Kakashi's panic, chimes following them.

Minato blinked, watching the bells in the newly made genin's hand.

"What do you know!" he chuckled. "You guys got them!"

I moved to stand with my friends, now teammates.

"But now, who gets them?" Minato asked kindly.

Obito looked between both of us then back at the bells.

"Here."

I smirked, watching the bells fly into the air.

Blinking, Minato smiled and caught the objects.

"You know Sensei, I'm happy with the team we have, so I say we have a do-over so all three of us can pass, After all, what kind of Hokage would I be if I left my subjects behind?"

The Future Hokage smiled and the tender moment was dispelled just as fast.

"Subjects?" Kakashi snapped. "Think again!"

Minato and I laughed before Obito became flustered.

"Advisors!" He yelled out nervously trying to cover it up. "I meant trusted advisors!"

And so the one thing that I never thought would happen, did.

But it didn't stop my worry.

What about Rin?

-.-

After we registered the team, took our photo, and had supper, it was pretty late.

So with a promise to meet the next morning at 7:00 am, we all made our way to Kakashi's where a room full of kids were waiting for us.

Most of them we knew, while there were two new additions, that somehow got invited to come to our sleepover.

After all, this might end up being our last large one for a while.

It was also the time I learned about everyone's team.

"My name is Raido and thank you for inviting me." He told Kakashi and sad boy rolled his eyes.

"Feel at home, that is what the others did!" he muttered before settling onto the floor.

"Can we go next time!" Akino asked as he wormed himself into Kakashi's lap.

"Can we?" The other dogs chorused.

Kakashi started to giggle as the dogs swarmed and licking him.

All but Bull, who leaned into my legs for scratches and Pakun who was getting love from Obito.

"So who were you put on a team with?" I asked him, curiously.

"Asuma and I," Kurenai called from the other side of the room. "We were put on, team 10 under Shikaku Nara."

Not surprised. It seemed as if they liked the idea of placing people with sedimental value on the same team. So Asuma being Shikaku's student? Then Asuma would eventually teach the next Ino-Shika-Cho.

No surprise.

I left Kakashi to his pack and Obito, Raido and I joined the circle.

"I was Youthfully placed on the same team as Ebisu-san and Genma!" Gai yelled, happily.

"Yay," Genma muttered half-heartedly from my left.

Ebisu sat beside him, on the opposite side of the circle of the hyperactive, martial arts master in training. "We have Choza Akamichi for a sensei, and I think he tried to bribe us with food."

But the object of my worries took that time to open the door, so I didn't continue to inquire.

"Sorry for being late!" Rin called as she ran into the room. "My sensei wanted to speak to me!"

"There you are! We were wondering what was taking you so long!" Anko laughed. "We were talking about who's on whose team."

Rin took her seat to my right.

"Yeah, I noticed in class you three got put together! Congrats!" My female best friend smiled, and it was a real smile.

I blinked.

"I thought you would be sad not being on the same team as those two. I know I was shocked," I told her. "You did get the best grade for the kunoichi in your year."

Rin blinked before she started to laugh.

"No Reika. Actually, in our generation you technically have it."

"But I already graduated!"

"You are still in our generation though," Kakashi said taking a spot next to Ibiki and Anko, slobber all over his face.

So that is how they were able to justify putting me on a team.

"So who did you get as a Sensei? Rin?" I asked, more than curious and a tad guilty.

A Shit-eating grin spread on her face.

Okay, someone tailored especially for her?

"I'm on team 6 with Ibiki and Anko." She gave me a peace sign.

That made me freeze.

Team 6?

Anko?

Didn't she have….

"And we have a mother-fucking Sanin!" The future snake mistress wooted.

Orochimaru.

Rin is part of Orochimaru's Genin team?

A team in which he performed experiments on all of them?

A team where only Anko survived?

-.-

Surprise!  
I'm sure a bunch of you were expecting what team Reika would be placed on. But Rin? I doubt any of you thought of that!  
Sorry for the late update. I started Finals last week so I might be a bit slow on the updates until May.

Recommendation: _I Found You Missing_ by **Wolfe Tales**.

Question: How do you think Rin will change being in Orochimaru's Genin Team?

Thanks Peeps, for the reviews, favorites, followers, and views.

See you next chapter,  
Ravenmocker6

 **LadyDV011** , That he is and being cute.

 **BloodyLoved** , Pressure Pressure. Amazing writing skills I do not have, but I try. Sorry for the wait!

 **Emily D' Lu** , I was crying writing it! Itachi is one of my favorite characters and by extension Reika's. Thank you for the support, And I hope I've surprised you once again!

 **Whitney1995** , I get why you are doubting, but I was curious as to why Hiashi? What is your other theory! You have me curious! As to other hints? Look closer the story is littered with them! Another should be coming soon, in a few chapters? Maybe? Takumi Mask? I actually mentioned him in this chapter, I'm sure you can guess who it is. Sorry for the late update, I blame Finals.

 **Dark Rose Charm** , Not sure how Neji learned it, but I think the brothers were closer then what they seemed like in canon. There had to be some reason why HIzashi would give his life for Hiashi. Ding ding ding, Reika has been placed on a team with Kakashi and Obito! But Rin? Safe? I think that is furthest from the truth. Where is the fun in keeping her safe?

 **I'mAlsoAWe** , I can wait either! Fugaku is going to go insane! It's going to be so much fun! Anytime! As for Seiichi and Tsubasa's death, I don't think I will. At least not for now. Maybe in the future, but I also see them figuring it out on their own. It wouldn't be too hard.

 **chloemika** , Thanks, I tried.

 **Megabyte97** , Ready to respond! Phew! I rewrote the scene probably at least 4 times trying to get the right feeling into it.  
I definitely think you are right, but anything that goes into Anbu becomes inconspicuous. So the A rank and above missions that would be brought in are automatically not supposed to be connected with Kohona. I wouldn't see those types of missions to be placed in a B rank or under unless it is ridiculously easy. Don't know if that answers your question.  
Noted! While I don't necessarily have time at the moment to go back and mix it yet, I'll put it on the list of things to fix. I originally thought it would be a good place to put it, because Karoline often appears in her dreams, highlighted in Kakashi's point of view. She and Kushina were just talking about her team members that died, I thought it made sense to put in someone else that left her. Anyway, I'll try and rework it a bit more, thanks for telling me.  
Woot! That figured it worked well with the scene, and Mikoto as a character. I mean she was an Anbu operative, I was sure that had to deal with things just as painful!  
CHIBITACHI!  
Pfft! That would be funny. I'm actually half debating on how to proceed with her. Whether I really want her to concentrate on only Genjutsu or something else.  
Thanks for the review again! Can't wait for what you tell me next!

 **Bored411** , I was making myself tear up. Hope you like it!

 **GreyMoon. Huntress** , I was tearing up too! Thanks! And yes she did say it out loud. I'll try to post another P.O.V with the next chapter, I was thinking from Fugaku's point of view, what do you think? I can understand! New character possibly going through the same things she is, it is easy to go BFF, but we will see what the future holds soon enough! And yes BabyItachi is definitely in the house!

 **Draco MalfoyGirl 16** , Thank you! I fixed it as soon as you pointed it out! I honestly thought I wrote midwife! Guess I was distracted! But thank you again!

 **curlystruggle** , I don't know why I'm crying either! It stabbed me in the feels as well!

 **KaYenn** , You Understand the Pain! I hate the Ablative so much! Subjunctives too! I actually really like Boruto, he's definitely a kid but is still likable. Oh... and Shikadai... I love Shikadai. Thank you for responding to my question, I feel a bit better now that I know people think it is good!

 **LilyWhite KittyWake,** Thank you very much. Feel free to let me know if you ever catch any spelling errors and what not. I try to get to them first but editing one's own work is really hard. And I'm glad I got the suspense down! That is an interesting theory! I would tell you whether you are right or wrong, but that would take the fun out of things. Or rather, perhaps I haven't even the person behind Maiko... We will see. But know this. The character is going to be very interesting. I'll try and give more of a reason why in a future bonus. If you have any other ideas of who Maiko could be let me know. I like knowing what people are thinking. It's fun! Thanks again for reviewing and welcome to Karma is a B*.

 **AstrxMoon** , Thank you!


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31- This could work.

"Reika?" I blinked in surprise and turned to look over my shoulder. I must have looked like an idiot. Sitting there, putting on my sandals, with a piece of plain bread in my mouth.

Rin stood at my back in full gear, hands hooked behind her back.

Taking the bread out of my mouth, I responded.

"Hey, sorry if I woke you."

Biting the carbs, I waited for her reply.

"Where are you going at six in the morning? To train?" she asked me.

I swallowed and stood up.

"There are a few things I wanted to practice before the day starts."

She hummed before taking my place, slipping on her sandals too.

"Can I come with you?"

I raised an eyebrow.

"You ask, but you seem to already know my answer," I responded, before quietly cracking the door and slipping out.

She kept up with me, a smile plastered on her face, all the way to Training ground 7. From there, we slipped into the trees so that we could have privacy.

Thinking back to this time. The time we spent together, I would eventually treasure it. Wishing with all my mind and heart, and cursing any deity that would listen, that we could come back to this.

Because the future?

Take what I had experienced in the first 9 years of my life, and you already guess that it wasn't bright. This pain and suffering would only continue.

And Rin. Just thinking of it makes my eyes sting. Fuck. Rin. If only I was…

"Hello!"

I finished the set of 360 and gathered my energy, before turning to the medical-nin.

"What are you doing?" her eyes sparkled with interest as she studied my movements.

"A training exercise that helps smooth out my chakra," I said, not technically lying.

Blinking, she hummed.

"Will you teach me?" My heart jumped and I tried not to let my emotions show.

Not that I'm any good at that.

"Oh." Sadness filled them. "It's a Hyuga secret isn't it."

No. Thoughts of my own selfishness filled me and made me second guess myself.

What if I were to teach her this, and it helped her survive?

Do I take the risk?

"No one." I flickered my byakugan for a second. 8 birds, a mole, two squirrels fighting, some bugs and an ant nest.

"You do not show anyone this," I told her. "Nor tell anyone. Not even your sensei."

Panic filled her eyes.

"But isn't this a clan technique?" She argued. "What if the Hyuga find out."

"Screw the Hyuga." I bit out. "This increases chakra control. If you want to be a kick-ass Medic, you need all the resources you can have."

I spoke frankly, even dropping the slightly formal way my parents had tried to enlist in me.

She needs an edge over Orochimaru should he try anything. I don't trust him with my family.

So, I showed her the movements.

"Neigong? I never heard that word before."

I refrained from the sarcastic remark that tried to slip out and corrected her stance.

"Try only 90 of each exercise."

She nodded and did so.

Even now, the aftermath still cracks me up.

"What the hell is this!" She complained, focusing her energy. She groaned before finally letting it drop. "My body feels like it was hit by a tree!"

I snickered and continued to hit my body's center with palms open, my legs in the horse stance.

"That's normal," I told her, exhaling. "You are using muscles and ligaments that we do not usually use."

She let her hand touch her shoulder and focused her energy.

"You are right." She answered, clearly surprised. Her chakra explored her own body, analyzing the effects. "Theses exercise are going to help support the muscles we do always use. It is going to prevent some strains and dislocations."

I smile before finishing up the set and focusing my chakra.

"On another note, what time are you meeting your Team?" I asked her, walking around to calm the shaking in my legs

Rin rolled her arms, looking up to the sky.

"In about half an hour." She said. "I'm actually going to go back and make sure the boys are getting up and to eat something fast."

I nodded before releasing the pressure, the burning energy, into my body.

"Okay." I nodded. "I'm going to stick around, there are a few other things that I want to do."

Her smile gave me hope that maybe everything was going to be okay.

"Good luck with the boys."

She disappeared into the forest, leaving me alone.

I sat on the ground and laid back. My arm over my eyes and I let my mind wander.

Rin on Orochimaru's team.

Panic rose in my gut.

This is a disaster waiting to happen. Even Ibiki? Only Anko is supposed to survive from her team.

How much more can I fuck up this timeline?

I snorted in disbelief realizing that I have already changed so much, having only been here less than a decade. Saving Sakumo. Worming my way unconsciously into the hearts of Mikoto and Fugaku. Stealing the position of the youngest Anbu from Itachi. And replacing Rin in team 7 for the worst fate at Orochimaru's disposal.

A familiar chakra flickered beside me and I sighed.

"Good Morning, Minato-Sensei," I called, cracking open an eye to look over.

Said Blond smiled before sitting in the grass next to me.

"Good Morning, Kiddo." He replied. "A bit early to be out, don't you think?"

I shrugged before closing my eyes again and relaxing my muscles. File it away. File away all the changes I made. I'll figure something out later.

The silence stretched out between us. The lack of other chakra in the area told me we still had time until we were supposed to meet. Meaning Minato came here for a reason.

To talk about something? Or for me to ask my questions?

"Why was I placed on team 7. Why with Kakashi and Obito?" I asked him in all seriousness. And I wanted answers. "Rin would have been a better choice for an assault squad as the medic."

"Don't worry about that. The Hokage thought long and hard about this, and I agree with his reasoning. I will explain it in more depth when the boys get here, so please wait a bit."

I forced out my breath in frustration, trying not to snap.

"But the reason why I came early was actually to talk to you about your schedule change."

I opened my eyes and looked over at him.

"You will be with us every day of the week like I told the boys. Saturdays will be one on one training, while Sundays are free."

"Does not sound any different." I tried not to bite out.

He smiled and held up a hand.

"Let me finish." Chuckling, he held up a finger. "Every Saturday, you will be sending a clone to our one on one meeting. You, yourself, will be going to Headquarters and training with Kawasu."

He paused for a second before I could see him count.

"Your birthday is coming soon. You are going to be 9."

I nodded before sitting up. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"One year. That is all the time the Hokage said he can give you. After that, you will be placed officially in a team and sent on your first official Anbu mission." He instructed.

My heart froze and sunk to the bottom of my stomach.

"Sundays will be spent continuing your apprenticeship with Ken'ichi."

But I barely heard it.

A year. I only had a year before I will be swallowed by the metaphorical shadows.

I wanted to snort, call myself melodramatic. But I couldn't bring myself to do it. Anbu was a big deal. It was dangerous, and if I didn't take it more seriously, I was going to die.

I cracked my neck before tuning Minato back in.

"Are you listening, Reika?" he asked, an eyebrow raised in surprise.

"Yes, Sensei." I muttered. "I understand."

That is when voices carried themselves throughout the forest. Bickering voices, which made our conversation halt.

"Just on time!" The future Hokage smiled as the boys breached the clearing.

"Hey, sensei!" Obito grinned, while Kakashi glared.

I blinked in surprised as I was the object of his anger.

"You left without telling us!" he accused.

I shrugged.

"Was training with Rin, she must have told you?"

Obito stomped his foot. Great now both of them were angry with me.

"But we are your team! Wake us up the next time so we won't be left behind!"

I snickered. "If you want to be a part of a girls training session, you are more than welcome."

Teasing them, made Obito and Kakashi glared harder.

"But don't worry." I grinned. "I will never leave you behind."

I spoke from the bottom of my heart, giving them the most honest answer I could. And I believed it. I accepted it as truth, not realizing how childish it was.

Because that declaration was false. And I would break that vow.

And not like I had already done. But Anbu would eventually become the least of my worries.

But rather, it would become a savior of sorts. And not in any way that you are thinking either.

No, my vow would be broken in the worst way possible.

"Alright, settle down." Minato pated the ground where the boys eventually sat.

"We have to have a serious chat." He reasoned, and all three of us perked up. "Reika asked me just before, why Team 7 was made up of you three, and I want you all to know."

Finally.

I moved forward until I was sure that I wouldn't miss anything and settled in to listen to the lecture.

"Shikaku Nara was given command of your friends Raido, Kurenai, and Asuma, and it is reasoned that they will become your year's assassination squad. Gai, Genma, and Ebisu, have been placed together to form the real Rookie of the year squad. With Gai being the lowest rank and Genma and Ebisu being at the top of the year, Hokage-sama needed the squad to be balanced."

"That somewhat makes sense, but what about us. I thought we were the Rookie of the year squad?" Kakashi asked.

"And what about Rin-chan's squad!" Obito interjected.

"Investigation and Support squad. Orochimaru-san is very apt at his job and specialty. Ibiki is a very smart individual, while Anko already has the personality for T&I, as sneaky as she is."

"Definitely crass enough." Kakashi scoffed.

"And Rin?" I ignored my best friend's comment.

"Orochimaru-san is a scientist and was on the same genin team as Tsunade-san. He knows as much as can be about being a medical ninja. He is the best sensei for Rin."

I hated to admit it. I really did. But he was right. But fuck, I hated it.

"As for you three." He paused before looking between Kakashi and I. "Kakashi and Reika were confirmed to be on the same squad as soon as I proved that they could be trusted to work together. But the issue was, who do we put with you guys?"

I blinked in surprise, before sneaking a look at Obito.

"So I wasn't in the original plan?" He asked. His voice seemed to almost deflate. Disappointment radiated off of him.

"It was a toss-up between you and Rin," Minato said honestly. "Rin would have been the given choice. She is a medical ninja, and with these two being primarily assault fighters, they are bound to get hurt."

Then why? Given the factor that I didn't want Obito to be placed with Orochimaru either! That is an equally bad choice.

"But in the end, I convinced the Hokage that you would be better." He continued.

"This Dobe?" Kakashi asked in disbelief. "How would he be better than a medic?"

Oh, Kakashi… why must you provoke him?

Not that his question wasn't valid

"What did you say?" Obito growled, glaring daggers at the silver-haired boy.

Clapping made both boys stop.

"Kakashi." Minato's voice was serious. "What is the thing that Kohona pride's itself most on? What are we most known for?"

Slightly confused he answered hesitantly.

"Teamwork?"

Our teacher nodded.

And I suddenly got it.

"Uchiha," I told my squad. "It is because Obito is an Uchiha."

Shocked was an understatement. My boys were flabbergasted.

"Once an Uchiha unlocks their Sharingan, their senses are increased with each tomoe they gather until they can read movements in a blink of an eye."

Kakashi nodded, the wheels turning in his head.

"As their reaction time increases, they will be able to read not only their enemy better but also their teammates. This will mean that with teammates that are already attuned to each other like Reika and me, once Obito gains his Sharingan, he will easily be able to keep up with us, despite him being not being at our level."

Obito opened his mouth to berate the other, but Minato cut him off.

"Pretty much, but it isn't only based on his future Sharingan. Obito has trained with both of you for years, he knows your styles better than most, and he will be able to catch up soon enough. That he has no choice."

I drummed my thumb a few times on my knee.

Why would Obi have no choice but to catch up? That's a stupid question. Because of the war.

"I'm being honest with you guys here." Our blond teacher said. "You guys will not be genin long. The Hokage will want to promote you as soon as possible. So we will have to work fast and efficiently to get you guys to Chunnin level."

Wait, wasn't Kakashi already supposed to be Chunnin at this point in Cannon.

I filed the information to think about later.

"You will be Chunin by the end of the year, so prepare yourselves."

-.-

"Any reason why you are back here and not working with the boys?" Minato asked me, with an eyebrow raised.

I slipped my hands back in my pockets and shrugged.

"I've already done this before," I told him. "They haven't"

"And you think it is okay to not do the mission because you have done it before?"

I sent him a small glare.

"You know that is not what I mean."

He chuckled before a loud commotion took out attention.

"Get back here you stupid cat!" Obito howled.

Snickering, I stayed back, not wanting to get any closer to the chaos that was Tama.

"Wait if I remember correctly, didn't Kushina tell me that Tama likes you?"

It was my turn to glare.

"Don't you dare."

"Reika!" Kakashi yelled and I barely had time to look over before a brown thing was flung at my face.

The screech that came out of me, will be one that the boys will laugh about for years, and one that will haunt me even to this day.

"Get this thing off me!" I growled grabbing it by its scruff and holding it away from my face, thanking whatever creatures that are out there that its claws didn't come out.

"Take it!" I hissed at the boys as they got closer.

"Nope." Obito grinned, his face all scratched up and arms folded behind his head.

I hissed, just like that damned cat and held it away from me.

"Obito, I swear. You better take this damn cat."

Kakashi snickered next to us.

"I have never been gladder my family deals with ninja dogs rather than the cats."

I glared over at him next.

"It's only fair that you carry her back, after all, you didn't help to locate her." Minato accused as well.

"You have got to be kidding me."

Just as I finished speaking the cat wiggled out of my grasped and jumped onto my kimono.

"Ow!" I hissed, the claws digging into my clothes as she climbed. I held my breath as she made herself at home on my shoulder, poking her body through my hair and curled around my neck.

"Aww, she loves you!" Obito teased, and I couldn't help but think of Seiichi saying pretty much the same thing.

Signing, I bit the inside of my cheek and turned around.

"Let's go give this pain in the ass in already," I muttered, ignoring the chucking of the idiots behind me. Minato caught my eyes, and I tried to ignore him. But you know, I've been around him too much. He knew me by then and had already seen me at my worse.

His hand settled on my shoulder, and gave it a tight squeeze, knowing well enough that I was thinking of my old team.

My satisfaction came back when Tama hissed and bit the closest finger, her claw halfway into his hand.

I guess Tama wasn't that bad after all.

-.-

"Alright." Mikoto sat in front of me with a scroll to her right. Tea was set out as well. "As Minato has probably told you, Hokage-sama has dictated that you have a single year left as my apprentice. After that, he has to start sending you out on missions."

And I didn't even have to vocalize my distaste. Itachi did that for me.

He whimpered, from between my legs, leaning up against my stomach. In one of his hands was a large rubber Fishcake, I swear it was Kushina-sensei who gave it to him. He had ditched the rubber kunai as soon as it was given to him.

Pacifist at heart, even at 3 months.

I bounced his hand slightly, trying to unconsciously tell him that it was okay.

"Now, we have to start on the logistics part of Anbu as well." She told me, pushing forward the package of papers. "This is a detail by detail hypothetical mission that you might be put on. I want you to read it, and give me a verbal report on it. While your captain will be the one who usually gives it, you are expected to know how to do so as well. There will be times when Hokage-sama will call upon you to explain something in more detail, or if there comes a day when it is you who will have to lead a team. With War upon us, there is no telling who will die, and who will be promoted. Anbu do not get this training, so I want you to take advantage of this while you can."

Reaching forward I brought the pack of papers close to me, just out of my little brother's reach, and started to read.

This wasn't the only reason why she was doing this.

Anbu reports my ass.

I read over the mission objective, before delving into the mission itself. The assassination of a family who was selling information to Suna. A family.

She was exposing me to the harsh reality that was Anbu missions. Not that I didn't understand it, but she wanted me to have no surprises when it came down to my future missions. So that when I stand in front of an infant the same age as the one in my lap, I will not hesitate. Instead, I would know that this would be for the betterment of the village.

Not that I would have had a choice anyway.

-.-

"Damn it Hiruzen," Ken'ichi growled as he tinkered with the sword in his hand. It was a nice one, that had come to him with barely a nick in the blade, but I could tell by the discoloration of the blade that it was old. Either one that was not used much, or one that was closely matched with its user.

Or maybe it was the stench of blood that seemed to cling to the guard.

"He promised me two days a week."

I rolled my eyes, before finishing the polishing on a throwing axe. I threw the oiled rag on the anvil next to me and got up, twirling the axe in my hand and testing the grip on the handle. It would be embarrassing if we got word that the client died because I oiled the leather grip too much.

"I'm an active Shinobi, Ken-san." Placing the axe on the nearby scroll, and activated the seal.

"So what? You should give it up already and work with me full time." He muttered under the banging of his hammer.

"Right, I doubt the Hokage will allow that after all the trouble I've put him through."

Ken'ichi scoffed again, being in one of his pissy moods.

"Blah."

I grabbed the next piece, before taking up my oil rag again. Spraying a small bit of oil on it, I focused on rubbing it into the blade of the refurbished sword, one which I had fixed myself. A small sense of pride filled me at the even nicely sharpened blade. The cloth moved along the blade, buffering the edge, and trying not to cut myself.

"See! You are not even listening to me!" Blinking up, I stopped the oiling and looked over at my Shishou.

"Did you say something?"

Throwing his hands into the air he gave me a small glare, but by the sparkle that I found deep in them, he was also amused.

"You are completely enamored by the weapons, that is proof that you should be my apprentice full time!"

I rolled my eyes before putting the sword in its respective scroll.

"Tell you what." Looking over at him, I tried to hide my own amusement at his hissy fit. "Right now, we are doing D-rank missions. So I'll try to send over a Shadow Clone to help you out when we have a mission, it's not like I'm going to be using the chakra anyway."

He was suddenly pleased with himself.

"That sounds feasible. Are you good enough that they will not pop if they are too far away?"

I shrugged.

"I guess, on Saturdays Minato-Sensei has me send one out anyway." I didn't tell him where, but of course, he could figure it out.

"Alright, that is acceptable."

Now content, he turned back to the expensive sword with a groan and continued to work.

Or at least I thought he was.

With my hands in hot water, to rub off the oil, I distinctly heard his next words.

"Clones, eh?"

I think I just signed my death warrant.

-.-

I grimaced at the slap as we worked on our timing drills.

While the purpose was not necessarily to hit the other person when we engaged, the sway of the drill did require a snap of the hand of hand to lower the opponent's guard.

Did Kakashi really want to play this way? Alright.

While I didn't go any faster than usual the suction of my snap made my teammate hiss in pain.

Biting my smirk back, I used the power of his counter against him and flipped him over my hip.

"Ow!" he groaned rolling on the ground.

"You okay?" I snarked.

The glare I received made my day.

Minato had obviously given him numerous lessons in timing drills. By the way, we traded hits, he definitely had talent, working hard to catch me unaware. And he did. He may not flip me over his hip like I did to him, but he got in a hit or two, Ibiki style.

Aka. Pinching.

Speaking of Ibiki, I wonder how Team 6 is doing?

A screech brought me out of my thoughts and I glanced over at the source. The Uchiha of the team was standing beside his partner, Minato-sensei, and shaking his hands.

My Byakugan wasn't needed to see how swollen they had gotten with all the slapping. He was clearly not used to the pain, nor was his hands rough enough to take the hits.

"This burns!" he whined but provided his hands so that they would continue.

Burns was an understatement. I was glad that I was born into the Hyuga clan. It would have sucked so bad if I had to go through the pain again. Since I was introduced to the gentle fist style, my palms were conditioned gradually with the growth of my body, and casually toughened.

Ah, that might also be why my snaps were so powerful. My hands were rougher from working so long with them coupled with my skills.

"Okay, let's finish for today." The future fourth Hokage called out.

Kakashi and I dropped the drill, eyeing each other lightly as if the other was going to make a cheap shot.

"Enough you two." He called again and I pulled my eyes away first.

"Yes, Minato-Sensei," Kakashi responded. We moved closer and Minato proceeded to detail our training session.

"Obito, you need to work on strengthening your grip and building up more calluses on your hands. But overall you did well for your first try. Keep it up and you will give these two a run for their money soon enough."

Perfect. Minato already knew how to deal with Obito. Gentle but firm hand. Correcting him, but at the same time praising what he did well so that he doesn't lose confidence.

"Reika, you are too distracted. One day someone is going to catch you off guard because you are thinking about something else. Shape up."

I blinked in surprise at the criticism.

"Haha." Kakashi snickered.

Glaring at him, I was glad when Minato also shut him down, putting in his place.

"Don't think I didn't see how hesitant you are getting in, Kakashi!"

It was my turn to grin, but I didn't gloat. Minato was a good teacher, tailoring his style to his students.

"Are we taking a mission now?" Was the next question.

Minato nodded at my brother in all but blood and walked away. Leading us threw the village.

We made it to the missions' office, and our jonin sensei looked exhausted.

"Kids." I snarked.

"What do you mean by kids! I'm older than both of you!" Obito shouted.

Kakashi snorted, "What does that say about your intelligence."

I tried not to smirk, as they started up once more.

"I think you are the most troublesome out of the team, Instigator Rei." Minato-sensei deadpanned.

I shrugged, not denying it.

"Keeps things interesting."

He opened the door with a sigh and walked up to the mission's desk.

"Team Seven reporting for duty." The blond said, clamping a hand on Kakashi's shoulder.

The white-haired boy closed his mouth and looked away. Biting back any comment he was going to give Obito. The older boy looked at him with a smug grin.

I shook my head before tuning in our duties.

"Here, we have a mission to collecting war tax from the businesses."

I narrowed my eyes but Obito beat me to the question.

"War tax?"

"Yes," Minato replied. "This tax is implemented during times of war. It is the collection of a percentage of the goods that each store has. This goes to the war front so that we have food and utilities for our troops."

He collected the scroll read it over once.

"We accept."

The desk ninja nodded and wrote down our information on another piece of paper.

"What about other businesses that cannot supply goods to the war effort? Like carpenters?"

Obito asked as we followed Minato out of the room.

"Cash." Kakashi replied, "That's obvious."

The other glared and I got ready for another fight.

"Not just that." All three of us looked at our teacher in question. "There are times when they can't pay, and in this case, we ask them for a favor, such as helping to build a bridge to facilitate supplies, or bringing us the supplies."

"That's much more dangerous." I remarked, "They risk their lives to do this."

Minato nodded and we stopped in the middle of the business street.

"Obito, Kakashi. Take the left side of town, Reika and I will take the right."

I blinked in surprise at the division, especially with the track record those two had today.

As if he read my mind he waved me off.

"You'll see."

The first few businesses we walked in, things were okay. They would give over the goods willingly and smile, encouraging us to do our best, and thanking us for our service.

But then, we went further right, closer to the edge of the village, the poorer areas.

"I'm sorry, there is nothing for us to give the war effort." The man said, his eyes trailed back to his wife, who was carrying their infant son. Her eyes watered, already knowing the answer.

Minato nodded, before bowing. I followed his example.

"Alright, you should be contacted within a few days for your tasking." He said the young women broke into tears moving further into the back of the building to try to muffle it. A nod dismissed us, and I silently followed Minato-sensei down the steps.

And that wasn't all we dealt with. Fear, frustration, and anger were some others. The emotion was stronger the further we got from the center of the village.

He had given the boys the easier area, the wealthier bit.

By the end of the day, I understood how much this war was affecting everyone.

Maybe it was the old lady yelling at us for taking away her food money, or maybe the children who tried to dump water on us for taking their mother.

In the end, I didn't know if I felt sad that we had to do this, or angry because we too were just doing our job.

"Try not to take it to heart, Rei-chan."

I flickered Minato's hand off as we met up with the boys.

"I collected more then you did!" Obito growled and Kakashi scoffed in disbelief.

"As if! We were there together." The other argued.

Minato shook his head before disappearing to give our scroll and report back fast.

"Let's take this elsewhere."

The boys were pushed out the building before we made out way down the street.

Confused we made out way to a familiar building and climbed the steps.

"You guys are late! Supper was ready 30 minutes ago!"

A smile took over my face and I took in the new smells that filled the air.

Hmm, Ramen.

"Sorry for the wait, we were reporting in," Minato said pushing the boys into the house.

"You better be! I worked hard on this!"

I grinned as Kushina finished dishing out the bowls and placed them on the table.

Moving into the living room, I watched as the kitchen table was filled and the boys circling it like vultures.

It had been quite a while since I had come to visit, let alone eat here.

My hand touched the couch in which I had slept on for weeks when I thought my life was crashing down on me.

"Oi, Reika!" Obito called and he wiggled in his seat. "What are you waiting for?"

Inhaling the salty scent of miso ramen, my mouth watered in anticipation.

A hand circled behind me and pushed me towards the table.

"Eat up, kiddo." Minato grinned before he took the head chair.

"I don't think there will be any problem with that!" Kakashi muttered from his place beside Obito. "She even dreams about ramen!"

"Do Not." I hissed back at the silver-haired boy.

A light-hearted laugh settled next to me.

"I wouldn't blame you!" Kushina grinned, giving me a bowl before sitting down.

"Yes, Kushina also dreams of it!" Minato smiled.

I rolled my eyes, pushing off the argument for another day.

"Anyway!" Kushina coughed getting everyone's attention. "I just wanted to congratulate you four on the new team!"

Our team looked between each other, and it didn't take much for my gut to settle, and to push off my worries for another day.

"Team 7." She saluted.

It didn't take long for us to raise our glasses along with hers.

Yes, maybe this will be for the best.

"Kampai!"

I can work with this.

-.-

To be, or not to be... Embarrassed.

So funny thing. For those of you who have been with me for these past few years, you know that my summers are often occupied by my internship.

While usually, I have no problems accessing Wifi, this year was a bit different. I was placed in housing where the wifi was complete shit. I could barely load this site on my phone, let alone update a chapter on my computer.

My sincere apologies, I am back now.

Recommendation: _Incarnate Of Obito Uchiha_ by **Elena Parker**.

Question: Who are you looking forward to meeting in future chapters? I know I've asked this before, but I'm curious.

Thank you for your Loyalty, Reviews, Favorites, Follows and Views.

Love you all,  
Ravenmocker6

 **I'mAlsoAWe** , Shisui's sister? I don't know if I'll be writing them like that. Both of them have a lot more growing to do before they seriously interact with each other. But they will don't worry about that. Don't we all hope they will live? Time will tell if they all do or not. Thanks for the Review!

 **thefoolswriter** , Thank you very much for the kind words! Haha! I think you and half of my viewers ship those two.

 **GreyMoon. Huntress** , Reika appealing to Orochimaru? Hahaha... You'll see how that works out in the next few chapters. Yikes! Anywho, I'm actually not sure what I'm going to end up doing with him. Genma as a fuckboy? I know! Actually, in most fanfictions I have read Genma is a traditional fuckboy or a mother hen. I figured I would add to it. Haha. I will add Fugaku P.O.V to my ever-growing list of additional writing to work on. I'll try to get it ready for the next few chapters. Thanks for the review, and Sorry for the wait!

 **bored411** , No matter what she does, the future is going to be a mess. That, I assure you.

 **Guest** , I'm glad to be of service!  
A smokescreen eh? That is the first time I heard of that reference. I see your point. Completely. But life can throw curveballs, and they can destabilize even the most solid of people. I do not think Orochimaru would be able to take it... Let's say one of his students dies, somehow? Would that not encourage him, even more, to try and find a 'cure' for mortality? To try and find how to be immortal, and to put up a wall so that he would not have to deal with losing someone he let in again? Just food for thought. No promises that this is the route I'm going to take.  
Following this, I agree with your judgment on how the three will progress. This was actually my reasoning for making them a team. _Kudos_ to you!  
Maybe it seemed like I played up the strength of the kiddies, but I don't think Reika was fighting with even 80%. While she may joke that she should have held back to look more like an average genin, she would never use her full strength unless it was absolutely necessary. And like you said, the kiddies were always training together at their 'sleepovers.'  
The bow can be seen as a hindrance. But it will eventually not be. There is a reason I have her as a blacksmith's apprentice. The theory is good, but again right now it is still in it's testing stages. It will take years, and lots of practice before it is complete. This weapon will be following her for the rest of her life. It is going to break, and she is going to have to fix it. Then it will break again, and she will want to throw it again. But instead, she will stick with it. I have a plan for this bow. And don't you worry. The wait and failures will be worth it.  
Oh, Reika doesn't know when to shut up sometimes. It's one of her charms. As for Genma? Hehehe. I have that planned already. Trust me, it will be great. You will love it!  
She may not have been a sailor but stuck with the scum of her home town for years and other shitting hands she was dealt, including her anger... Yeah, she most definitely gets it from there.  
That is my goal for this series. or at least in this part of the series. Obito will not be the dead last. He no longer has the train by himself, and that will make the difference.  
Thank you for reading and leaving such a long comment. Sorry for the wait and hope you enjoy the next chapters to come.

 **Dark Rose Charm** , Rin dying? No! Why would I do that? ReikaxObito? I reserve my right to remain silent.

 **PurpleKetloom** , Haha! Yes, What dd you get yourself into! Thank you, I hope I keep up with your expectations.

 **angelacorus** , Thank god for my Brazilian roommate. That, I admit, will not happen. Reika is a Fighter. She is not a healer. Thanks for the comment.

 **Edocsiru** , Well... Thanks for the review count? Schizophrenic? Slave? Ouch!

 **Lynxz** , I'd give you tissues if you lived nearby. But instead here is a chapter. Thanks for the review.

 **Knaruto** , I was actually going to start the chapter with that... but I figured it would be too cruel to leave you wondering exactly who was her sensei...

 **Rain Sennin** , Yeah, I'm going to have to get around to doing that. But by the time that I do it, the romance will probably arrive. I'm open to suggestions. What do you think that other genre should be?

 **dontbeweirdman,** You are not the only one to hope that. Rin is going to have a big impact on Orochimaru, just as he will have the same to her.

 **Myst Shadow** , Thanks. We will see. I've had a few pleas for him to stay good, so I'll see what I can figure out.

 **Lonewolf1836,** We will see. I actually don't know if Kushina actually had a team in Canon or not. It would be interesting to know though.

 **Megabyte97,** Haha! Well! We all make mistakes. It was review from chapter 30? or a different one? Thank you for the clarification! I had noticed that I didn't get a review from you yet and was getting a bit worried. Ops. Two months later, I swear I'm not dead. I had no wifi in Greece, it was so bad! Sorry for the late chapter!

 **arapyanime,** Thanks! Yes, there will be pairings! No, Rin will not be the female Kabuto. At least not really...

 **elissaya,** Sorry? Not sorry? Thank you!

 **deathwearsblack,** Sorry for the wait! Here it is.

 **1freakshow,** Thanks! And he does. He just was not originally on Orochimaru's team.

 **TheOne320,** Orochimaru could be Chaotically good. That is very possible. As you are number 4... or was it 5... anyway. Since you guys asked, I will see what I can do.


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